time marches on

Doesn't every mother feel this way, the cherishing of each birthday or milestone. The knowledge that this season won't last forever, that these sweet tiny bodies are growing with each sleep at night, that someday soon we will look back and wonder where all the time has gone! These six years with our precious girls have flown by. I really grasp that time is not just marching, but sprinting on. In my efforts to cherish these moments and time with my kids I suppose I can be a bit sentimental on their birthdays. Always remembering, looking back, pondering it all in my heart. Though its not been perfect, though their entrance into this world was a bit of a surprise, though I still mourn those first weeks of being in medicated fog and them in the NICU, though it wasn't too long after they were born and I was on the couch for a whole summer and then there were 3. Their baby days passed quickly and busily. Yes I cherished it all, took as many pictures as I could, and then came Kindergarten and I just wasn't really ready to only cherish them 1/2 the day. No, I still wanted the whole day all the time with them. I know I will look back and see I got as much as I could, cherished ALL that my mama heart could take in. And at 6 years old this Christmas, I'm feeling as if my heart is about as BIG as it could ever be with all the cherishing, pondering, memories, and many days we've spent together. No, it sure hasn't been perfect or ever easy, but there is NOTHING I would change about the Christmas miracles we received 6 years ago and all the intentional moments we've tried to hold onto since then. Happy Birthday my growing daughters, you are not babies anymore. My little women in training, little loves of my life. How I love your open heart for Jesus, your adoration for Daddy, and desire to be mommies to all your babies. The Lord has a plan for your lives and as each year passes I pray you would be obedient to His call. I love you more than you'll ever know. We celebrated their birthdays yesterday,