these are the days...

my life has been crazy lately. really crazy. trip to ethiopia, two deaths in our family, rich traveling to england, me taking two trips myself (one being our first cross-country trip with jade), ear tubes for Jade, tricia's wedding, joey and court leaving, pregnant...and sick. i have felt "out of sorts" to say the least...and there have been several days that i have felt too busy (or too sick! :)), too torn in too many directions, to just sit and look at my baby girl all day long like i want to. just last week i told my mom that i thought this week things would finally be back to "normal" (whatever that is...) and I was looking forward to just sitting in the floor and playing. my sweet shaelyn jade isn't the tiny baby that i held just months ago anymore. she is walking running all over the place, exploring, trying to repeat everything i say, soaking in every single cloud, insect, breeze, ray of sun, new person...she is at the BEST age yet, and i have been too busy to take her in enough. not this week, though. this week we have been home pretty much all day every day, just me and my girl, reading books (over and over and over again), taking baths, playing baby dolls, singing songs and dancing (did I mention this girl doesn't stand a chance at having any rhythm???)...and laughing---lots...long and hard. i can tell she's loved it as much as i have. today we went grocery shopping and she could point out so many things she "knows" now...and when we got home, she went straight back to her room to "play"...it was very quiet, which was much needed as i tried to pull my house together for the jewelry party i was hosting in just hours...too quiet. when i finally went back to check on her...

ever thought pulling EVERY SINGLE WET WIPE out of the container could be so fun? it was for this girl. and when i called her back and asked her what happened she just grinned from ear to ear, so proud of her accomplishment!

when she got tired of playing alone, she came into the kitchen where i'd started making brownies and said "UP!"...so i pulled her a chair over to the counter like i always do when i cook, so she could watch. then i remembered a birthday gift she had gotten that i cleverly put away for a day like today...and i ran back to the top of her closet and pulled down a "new" toy!!! her very own cooking set- complete with apron and chef hat and all of the essential kitchen "tools"...


have you ever seen a sweeter chef? and no i am NOT one of those terrible mom's who let's their children eat raw eggs from the chocolate batter...no way, i would never do that (among other things, like let my child run around in just a diaper for most of the day today...eek, caught twice in one pic!!!)

as i snapped this picture i realized, in a weighty moment, that these are the days i have waited for all my life. me, a mommy, to the sweetest little chef on earth. me, home with her all day long- and tired as it makes me some days, it is a dream come true for me...these are the days i pray i never forget.

oh Lord, please help me to slow down and soak up these days- for i know they will not last long. thank you for the precious gift of children... for my shaelyn jade, and for this small, sweet heartbeat in my belly. thank you for your child, Jesus Christ, and the hope that He gives me each day. please help me to let His light shine daily, through me, and into the hearts of my own children. thank you for making me a mommy.