Insta.Life

As of late, I have found myself keenly aware of the time that is passing by.

The boys seem to be growing up at a rapid pace, leaving me grasping for moments to stash away in my pocket, for when they are no longer my little boys.

Last night, Gibson and I slow danced to Lead Me.  As we danced, I would catch glimpses of him in my arms in the reflections that surrounded us, and I just held him tighter, not knowing when the last time he would jump into my arms to dance would be.

Today, as we walked to the bus after his field trip to the zoo, he grabbed my hand, and I cherished that long walk to the bus, no longer taking his hand in mine for granted.

Each and every morning as Gibson leaves for school, Elliott questions how long before kindergarten starts, over the moon excited for his chance to go to school all day, everyday.

And our Finley girl, can I even describe how this little girl, that has an enormous piece of my heart in Korea, is an everyday reminder of how precious each passing day is?

No, I can't because there is nothing quite like knowing that time is marching on with or without you.

So, I sit, trying to take it all in.

With each snapshot I store away, I look around and see my wonderful life.

A freak accident with a stick left Elliott under strict orders to keep both eyes closed for 24 hours.

And for the medical drama this week, Gibson will fall on the playground cutting his

head and win best in show for a bloody covered outfit.

As the parapro told me as I picked him up.

He has the whole lunch room worried.

The all of the boys are praying and all of the girls are crying.

Walking for water is one of our favorite ways to connect with community and

raise money and awareness for those who do not have clean water.

Elliott and I ventured to the "good" Meijer to find this lovely little

fruit stand for kids.  

Our very own Needtobreathe concert .... track #5, of course.

News of an even longer wait to meet our Finley girl got the best of me,

and I may have eaten a LOT of pistachios to relieve some stress.

Knowing we could no longer avoid the reality that Finley would celebrate her

first birthday without us, we had no other choice to find her a 

pretty party dress to send her way.

After a couple weeks in my swimming bag, I dug out this thoughtful

gift from Mrs. Jen and decided it was time to choose hope again.

Just when we thought we had reached our quota of medical traumas,

Gibson stepped on a nail while running through the woods.

Enjoying a beautiful afternoon with friends that will soon be moving away.

Blessed to have a seat at this dinner table.

We had one proud big brother as he read two pages of Finley's

birthday book to her.

My catcher man. 

SF, GF, DF and delicious!

Life Lesson #674.... Never leave your favorite book in the fort overnight.

I have always been able to find Jesus at the Start line.... even if I'm not racing.

Celebrating Kt's amazing 25k performance.

Last night we had two frogs ... this morning we found Getaway in the hallway

and Jumpy is still MIA.

Who knew that I would ever consider unsweetened almond milk with

decaf coffee ice cubes to be a treat?

Sadly, we found Jumpy, dried to a crisp on the basement floor.

Elliott sobbed over the loss of his pet {of 12 hours} for quite some time.

As the pond drains behind us, the boys are on a mission to save

every last tadpole.

Just because Finley is celebrating her first birthday in Seoul, doesn't

mean we can't have some cake and celebrate her big day here.

Sometimes, you just have to drive thru and treat yourself to a whopper jr.

All ready for his bone scan.

To the zoo we go.

Just when you think it's an ordinary day at the zoo,
 a goat tries to eat your purse.

They say that every great story has conflict and great characters.  I'd say we are on our way to a great story.