Time Flies

On a cold January morning I held my newborn baby boy; he was our fourth child, and our little surprise. That first year was magical! He was sweet and cuddly, I was totally in love with this baby. Then he started to walk and my life turned upside down. I thought I had this mothering thing all figured out, but he set out to destroy any confidence I had in being a great mother. My pride took a big hit. No longer was I the mother of three well-behaved little girls, I was now the mother everyone avoided because of that unruly little boy. As I look back on those years, I believe that time does fly.

My once clean, organized home became a disaster. Silence was not golden; it meant that there was trouble brewing, and I needed to go investigate. This child was always into something; his curiosity was endless. I went into my kitchen one morning and found that he had opened all the Jell-O and pudding boxes. I caught him in time before my kitchen was covered in the fine powered substance, but for the next several months I didn’t know if I was making Jell-O or pudding or what flavor, until I opened the package.

I did not take him out in public because he would run off and hide, and he was really fast. My once annual pass to the children’s museum was a thing of the past; he would just go from one station to the next making a mess. I would stay behind to clean it up and find him making another mess. This sweet child would find ways to make trouble. I knew I was in over my head when I came upstairs and he was standing in the un-flushed toilet with a naked Barbie dipping the Barbie’s head in the “water” and flinging it all over the room! I never thought I would survive the next 15 or so years. It seemed like an eternity until this child would be old enough to leave.

As he grew older, I celebrated each year and checked that off my countdown. He struggled in school, teaching a child that has dyslexia how to read was a big challenge. We found ways to encourage or bribe him to do his best. One year it was a picture of a new bike taped to his desk at school. If he tried his best he would get the new bike, and he did. I held my breath each time he was out riding, hoping he would not come home injured.

This is where I believe that time does fly. You see, this once wildly curious, trouble-making, thrill seeking, little boy is now eighteen and will be leaving our nest in two short months to serve his mission. His life has been full of adventure; he lives each day to the fullest, taking advantage of every minute of sunshine to be outside. He has turned into a caring, compassionate, hard-working young man, that I am so proud of, and I am going to miss him terribly. I am not sure where those days, months and even years went, but I know I wasted too much time wishing them away.

One of my favorite quotes is “The days are long but the years are short.” This also demonstrates my belief that time files. We spend our days doing the mundane but look back and wonder where the time went. As we get older, time does go by faster. If you take the life of a small child, one year is a significant portion of their life. As an adult, one-year is a much smaller portion of our life and so it goes by faster. I do believe that time flies.

2 Months

Molly turned 2 months old last week, she is becoming more alert and she is awake for several hours at a time, being content to make funny faces at her mother. She had a doctor appointment on Monday and weighed 12lbs 4oz. She goes to work with her mom and usually sleeps through all the chaos at the gym with music blaring and mom shouting and running around. She is going about 4 hours between eating and sleeping up to 6 hours at night. She has been the best little baby.

 Molly has found her tongue and doesn't quite know what to do with it.

She has the biggest smile, can't wait until she starts laughing. 

She is starting to get some fat on her legs and arms.

She is such a sweet little baby, I am so glad they live close by and I get to see her every couple of days!

Happy Anniversary

Happy 4th Anniversary Tim and McKenzie, love watching your family grow. McKenzie you are doing a great job as Mommy, and Tim her eyes are still blue!

Happy 2nd Anniversary Jeremy and Katie, so glad you found each other! Enjoy your vacation in Hawaii!