One of his hits right now is "It Won't Be Like This For Long." If you are a fellow country music lover, then I am not giving out new info. The song, if I really stop and think about it, could make me tear up every. single. time. John feels like Hootie wrote it just for us - thanks, Hootie. It talks about each phase of our children's lives and how they all fly by. It doesn't stay the same for any length of time.
Which is truth as far as truth can be. William and Violet are already gaining head control. They are awake slightly more often, which has obvious pros and cons. They have both doubled in size since birth, and they are just beginning to space out their feedings. They are constantly evolving. As I sat and dwelt on this, it hit me in the face that Lily and then Bella did all of these things as well. And now look at them! They are the biggest girls of all time - at least in comparison to babies. How did it happen that Lily asks questions about life that make sense? When did Bella start talking in complete sentences? Each of these things crept up on me slowly, until all of the sudden - WHAM, BOOM, BANG - they are grown up.
Well, not exactly. Bella is still in diapers, and Lily wavers from day to day on whether or not her car seat is too difficult to buckle, so I guess there is still some room for growth and development.
I feel like as a mom, I am constantly being told to enjoy every moment. This is not a new refrain for me to mention, but it does seem to underline my life. People tell me this in the grocery store and on Facebook and when I am getting my hair done. I have struggled with knowing how to balance the "Enjoy Every Moment" camp with the "Just Have To Get Through It" camp.
But - it won't be like this for long. There is a season for everything in turn, and while we are in a rather taxing season presently, the season will wane, before we even realize it. It will fade softly into a different season that will offer new opportunities and challenges. I will look back and wonder how my snuggly newborns were replaced by babies that can sit up, eat and giggle. I have one more year with Lily still at home before she heads off to kindergarten, and that thought can send me into a tail-spin. Which totally took me off guard, because I thought I would be ready for the change. And maybe by next year, I will be, but I doubt it. Sending our first child off to school will signal the end of an era - one that I have really enjoyed.
The best way that John and I have found to combat the simultaneous grief of knowing something sweet will not be forever and the tedium of a draining stage like feeding every three hours is gratitude. John is particularly good at pointing out the positives and not wishing things away, and I am so thankful to have someone that is helping me to be more thankful in life. I also want to hear from God what he wants for us out of each stage. As I mentioned, each one brings new opportunities and challenges, and God does not waste any of those, ever. I am sure I miss out on them regularly, but I am thankful above all else for his grace and mercy that have me covered when I fail at things. All the time.
And here's the scoop on the pictures - it took a jumbo marshmallow bribe to get the older girls to participate. These shirts were made by a sweet friend - we traded cookies that I made for the girls' shirts, and she gifted the babies shirts. I love having them all matching, and the older girls would wear the shirts every single day if I let them. There were tears during this photo-shoot from three out of the four and a bad attitude from 50% of the children, but I got some keepers after all. It won't be like this for long.
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