madelyn and christmas

madelyn made her friend isabelle a bracelet the other day that she wanted to give her for christmas. i was watching her work so hard on this one particular bead. it was quite small, but she needed it on the string to hold the other beads in place. i was struck.

i was struck because she is still so small and little, but yet so big at the same time. i thought to myself, "i want to remember these simple times. times when making a bracelet with flower beads and letters to spell bff were the biggest task for the day. times when snuggling up with her brother to watch a video for the tenth time is super exciting. times when she and elijah can still both snuggle up on me and i try to convince them to stay like that all day then they giggle and tell me why we can't possibly stay like that for so long."

yes. i had a lot of thoughts in that moment. now that i am thinking about it that was the moment that i promptly forgot that i had just sprayed down their shower with cleanser and never made it back to scrub it. i realized that at 6 a.m. christmas morning when i woke up before everyone else and wasn't sure what to do with myself.

anyway, all that to say my kids are still so young and little, but time is moving fast. when i watch old videos and here their tiny voices and realize it really wasn't that long ago i also realize i am going to still feel that way just a few short years from now when they are again so different. sigh ...

okay, but christmas. that was fun. i think the kids got just enough from us, not too much overload. they have zoned in on their toys and board games and are having lots of fun.

what a gift it is to be able to truly celebrate christmas with the love of christ in our lives. i know many people celebrate His birth, but how many are celebrating without truly knowing Him. that is a sad thought. thank you Jesus for being so true in our lives and blessing us so richly with your grace.