Before She Comes

The end of a pregnancy always makes me a little more mindful of the specialness of the children already born to me.  With a change--albeit wonderful!--on the horizon, I pause to say "thank you" for the way life has been during the past few years.  Although I am excited beyond words to embrace life as "the seven of us," I remember fondly the adventures we've had as "the six of us."  The fact that a daughter will soon be added to our family is a dream come true, but I've loved my years of being a mom of just sons.  Certainly most of my thoughts these days are focused on looking forward to a bright future after the birth of this baby, but a tiny part of me has to look back and dwell on the gratitude I feel for the precious past.  

All of this translates to a heightened appreciation for my four sons, and a more conscious awareness of how much I treasure them.  I never want them to feel like my love for them has waned even a microscopic amount because of the addition of a girl to our family.  Each of them is so, so special to me--absolutely irreplaceable.

I took the time today to download some short videos from our old camera; and even though these first two videos are from months ago, they brought delight to me.  I just want to sit and watch these boys and notice things about them and ponder all this in my heart, storing it up for the day when they are grown and gone from home.

Who knew that you could have so much fun with empty egg cartons?  :)  And Shav gets to practice his counting with them, too--not bad for a two-year-old.  :)

The next videos are much more recent.  I love the way Shav plays peek-a-boo...more like pick-a-boo, in his language.  He makes me smile.  :)

And then Tobin wanted me to make a video of him doing it, too.  Of course, he can say it correctly; and he shows off his skill here.  :)

Then I thought, "Wouldn't it be cute to have them say it to each other?"  But Shav didn't go along with that idea for long, and this video captures his famous "I can't!" that he emits with a whine and a groan when he doesn't want to do something.  I am not always amused by him saying that!  ;-)  But in this case, I'm glad to have captured it because it is such a part of this stage of life...such a part of him!

One other snippet for tonight...  I finally completed the task today of sorting through bags and bags of clothes (some girl clothes and some boy clothes) that have been given to Jeff by his co-workers, and I feel so very grateful for their generosity!  The boys have been delighted by the new (to them) items they've discovered in their dressers.  Like Tobin and this Scooby Doo shirt...oh my, Tobin was T-H-R-I-L-L-E-D!  :)

 And I thought Shav looked especially cute in his new sleeper...

...with dinosaurs on it.

Sorting through these clothes was on my Must-Do list for yesterday; but when last evening rolled around, my energy gave out and I didn't get the job done.  Until today, that is.  The other big accomplishment of the day was completing the task of packing my bag for the hospital--hooray!  :)

For tomorrow, besides swimming lessons for Josiah and David, a trip to the library, and a little shopping, I'm trying to decide what my extra project should be...provided I have a drop of energy left after a morning away from home.  Should I clean out my refrigerator, or clean my bathrooms?  Both areas are bugging the tar out of me, but I can't decide which one is bothering me the most and should be tackled tomorrow.  I guess I'll wait to make that decision until the time comes.

Regardless, the most important thing I want to accomplish tomorrow is to continue to thoughtfully, consciously pay attention to my beloved boys and treasure these sweet, ordinary moments of their sweet, extraordinary lives!  :)