Just for today...

My friend Michelle sent me this poem by Sally Meyer a long time ago and I kept it because I love it. I hope you enjoy it too!

Just for this morning,

I am going to smile when I see your face...

and laugh when I feel like crying.

Just for this morning,

I will let you wake up softly in your flannel p.j.'s...

and hold you until you are ready to stir.

Just for this morning,

I will let you choose what you want to wear...

and I will say how beautiful you are.

Just for this morning,

I will step over the laundry to pick you up...

and take you to the park to play

Just for this morning,

I will leave the dishes in the sink...

and let you teach me how to put your puzzle together.

Just for this afternoon,

I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off...

and sit with you in the garden blowing bubbles.

Just for this afternoon,

I will not yell once,

not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck...

and I will buy you one, if he comes by.

Just for this afternoon,

I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up...

I will simply love you for the joy you bring me

Just for this afternoon,

I will let you help me make cookies...

and I wont stand over you . . . trying to 'fix things.'

Just for this afternoon,

I will take you to McDonald's and buy us both a 'Happy Meal'...

so you can have two toys.

Just for this evening,

I will hold you in my arms and tell you the story of how you were born...

and how much we love you.

Just for this evening,

I will let you splash in the bathtub...

and I won't get angry when you pour water over your sister's head.

Just for this evening,

I will let you stay up late...

while we sit on the porch swing and count all the stars.

Just for this evening,

I will bring you glasses of water...

and snuggle beside you for hours...

and miss my favorite t.v. show.

And tonight when you are sleeping safe and warm in your bed,

I will think of the mothers and fathers who mourn for the children they have lost.

I will remember the parents who sit by hospital beds,

watching over the little ones they love.

I will weep for those parents whose children are cold,hungry and suffering,and ....

this evening,when I kneel down to pray,

I will simply be grateful for all that I have and not ask for anything...

except

just one more day.

Baby things

I spent this morning organizing Austin's closet. Every couple months or so I have to go through the boys' clothes and move out what's too small. Ethan's outgrown clothes get moved to Austin's closet and Austin's get sorted and put in tubs.

Here's the dilemma; I can't get rid of their baby clothes. I have gotten rid of their play clothes and older clothes, but I keep my very favorite outfits. The problem is I have five tubs worth of favorite outfits. I do plan having a baby quilt made with their baby clothes, but I know I don't need that many clothes to do it! Also, if we have another baby boy, he will need the clothes. OK, I think that's enough justification. Hopefully someday I will be able to part with them.

While going through the closet, I came across Ethan and Austin's special boxes. I love boxes filled with sentimental things, so my friend Erica bought me my first box to put Ethan's baby stuff in. His first rattle, pacifier clip, beanie hat, tiny diaper and his first birthday candle are in there.

Austin's box is filled with his tiny shoes, rattles, pacifier and his hospital ID bracelet. I have a bigger box to put some of their favorite toddler things in too. I love the idea of going back and seeing all their favorite baby things when they are older.

Just seeing them now made me get a little case of baby fever. Crazy, I know!

851

That's the number of pictures I have taken in the 18 days since I got my new camera. Can you believe that? I deleted a lot of pictures too! Hey, they say practice makes perfect. :) I am having a lot of fun playing with it and I'm so thankful my sweet hubby gave it to me for Christmas!

Sherry's 4 T's

Taylor is all preteen and she LOVES Blake from American Idol, and I do mean LOVE. She will only shop at American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister. She is in eighth grade, so I guess that comes with the territory. She loves to talk on the phone, text message and listen to her iPod.


Trevor is in third grade. He loves to play football, watch football and play it on their new Wii. He is a big fan of the UT Longhorns and LSU. He is the mischievous stinker boy who use to climb on top of the minivan at age 2. He has had a burned cornea from biting a glow stick, a third degree burns on his fingertips from trying to see what makes a dryer work and has swallowed a quarter. Despite all the mischief, he is very smart and scores highest in his class every year on his achievement test.

Tatum is all girl. She loves dolls and anything sparkly. She loves to clean up the kitchen, dance, watch High School Musical and listen to music. She is in Sherry's first grade class and is a cheerleader. She carried Austin around a lot this week, but refused to change his diapers for some reason. The Baby Alive doll didn't seem to inspire her quite enough.

Trent is in sixth grade and is on the basketball team. He loves sports and video games. Last year we were surprised when he had an accident when he fell off a swing at school. Everyone who heard the news asked if it was really Trevor and not Trent! He suffered two broken bones in his arm, fractured skull and bleeding in the brain. He is fine now though, thank goodness! He was great this week with the boys.

Sherry is a mother of four, wife and first grade teacher. She is always on the go, though she says she likes to take it easy. I don't buy it. Her favorite things are eating, spending time with family and playing games. She loves taking pictures and she just started her own blog.

Russell is a great dad. He plays with the kids a lot and is a big kid himself. He has a great sense of humor and always cracks me up. We like to recite lines Christmas Vacation movie. "Can't see the lines can you Russ?"

Here are some pictures from today. They are leaving tomorrow and we will miss them terribly!

Rub a dub dub

Ethan and Austin loved the shaving kits they got for Christmas. They had a great time playing with the foam and having daddy shave them. Bath time is always a happy time full of bubbles, laughing and splashing.

Merry Christmas!

We woke up early this morning and loaded our sleepy boys into the car and drove to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We left Santa a note and told him to deliver our presents there.

We had a great time opening all our presents. Ethan and Austin loved their giant Tonka dump trucks. They had so much fun ripping open all their presents and stocking stuffers. My sister got me this beautiful hand-stamped necklace. I love it! My mom got me a Magic Bullet and a Deceptively Delicious Cookbook. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes! Eric got more gadgets for his phone and I know he will be busy the next couple of days playing with his new toys. Tatum got a Baby Alive and I had fun playing with it until she wet all over me. I'm glad we didn't feed it any of the baby food!

It was Ethan and Austin's first year to get excited about Santa, so it was really special. I loved seeing their eyes light up with excitement and seeing how happy they were to play with their new toys. It's hard to imagine Christmas getting any better than when you were a kid, but reliving it again through your children's eyes is even better. Eric and I love having family in town and spending time together. I have enjoyed every minute of Eric's time off work and so have the kids. I tried to not stress about my messy house, kids staying on or off their schedule or anything else that comes with a house full of people and dogs. It actually worked and I have had a great time! I feel truly blessed with wonderful family and friends. I thank God for all he has blessed me with, especially for sending His Son to be born on this very special day.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year. We always have so much fun playing games, eating, opening presents and spending time together. We watched Christmas Vacation and Elf too. Those are my very favorite Christmas movies.

We gave the boys a Cars table and chairs today. They love it! They colored on it and actually wanted to sit down to eat lunch.

Everyone had fun playing outside and enjoying the nice cold weather. Taylor even swings with a cell phone attached to her ear.

We played Tripoli with the board Kai made us this afternoon. Sherry won and I was the biggest loser. It was fun though, and the Ethan and Austin loved "helping".

We have a tradition of reading "The Night Before Christmas". We sit on the floor in a circle and pass the presents when we read the word and. If you get your own present, you get to open it. We always get a new pair of pajamas. Have you ever seen a kid so happy to get pajamas? We headed to our favorite picture taking spot today. Here are some of the shots we got.

Merry Christmas!