Ponder: v. To reflect or consider with thoroughness and care.

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog.  Between a move to Mobile, having another baby, buying a house, changing diapers, cleaning dirty dishes and rocking babies for hours on end, life has been busy. Wonderful, but oh, so busy. I hear this is normal, and that I should settle into this crazy, fast pace. I'm trying!

On one hand, I feel like I want to write all about the big stuff - the house we bought, the changes we've made to it, the milestones that both babies have reached, the trips we've taken and the wonderful friends we've made along the way, but those things have, I think, taken root in my mind and heart, and blog or no blog, I'll probably remember them. The thoughts I think I want to relish right now are about the things that I believe the Bible was talking about when it said that "Mary pondered these things in her heart." These "things" are the little treasures that she might have left behind if she didn't just take a moment to commit sweet, fleeting moments of motherhood to memory. So, please bear with me while I follow suit...

I love the way Sarah Claire will "write a song" about anyone you ask her to, singing their name to the same tune every time, and that she will even shake her head a little for some extra emphasis if she's really getting into it. I love how she wrinkles her nose when she tries to close her eyes to pray, and that each time we sit down to eat, she reaches out for me to hold her hand while we thank God for our food. I love the way she bolts for the stairs, yelling "Dew!" (Luke) when he is napping and she's ready for him to come back downstairs to play. And how the words "night night," "all done," and "banana" would sounds identical to most people, but how I have the privilege of knowing her so well that I know just which one she means. I love her love for music, and the way she will fill in the blank for songs like Mr. Moon, Jesus Loves Me, and the ABCs. I love her absolute obsession with Elmo, The Golf Boys, fish, her "Da-da," swimming, belly buttons, her grandmothers and grandfathers, her aunts and uncles, dogs, playing in water, fruit snacks, and maybe most of all, her little brother. She is the most incredible big sister, and even though she terrifies him sometimes with the way she blurs the line between a hug and a strangle, she really takes good care of him and is so affectionate. I love how she says mouse. I love her curls. I love that she can work an iPhone better than I can. I love that she cups her hand over her mouth to laugh when she's being silly. I love her constant motion, her endless energy, and her undying love for sweets. I. love. her.

I mean, really, what's NOT to love? She's precious. and stubborn. and sweet. Oh, she's sweet.

Then there is Luke, our sweet, patient "Dew," who is already showing us that two babies can be raised by the same parents and live in the same home and be absolutely, completely different. He is as pensive as Sarah Claire is busy. I love that about him. He is so tall and lanky, with the longest toes I've ever seen. He is so fair skinned that we joke that he is transparent. He really kind of is. I love that he got my complexion, even though he may resent it when he experiences his first sunburn! He is always grinning that sweet, still-toothless grin, and he is the sweetest snuggler in the world. I love the way kicks his legs constantly, and that he is working tirelessly to crawl. I love the way that he scoots around the playroom, from one toy to another, squealing at and chewing on each toy he can get his hands on. I love that the only time he isn't patient is when he is hungry, and he yells between bites of food when I'm feeding him - especially when I'm not feeding him fast enough! I love that he can eat more food than most two year olds and still open his little mouth like a baby bird to let me know that he wants more. I love that he studies his fingers all the time, like he is trying to figure out exactly how they work, and I love that he is always finding his way underneath tables as a means of protection from his sweet sister who may or may not see his soft little head when she races through a room. He's always cautious, always kind, and always melting our hearts.

Can you see why? He is already so sweet. I know he is going to be the most caring little boy!

One thing we've learned over the past couple of years is that we are blessed beyond measure. We have grown so much in parenthood. We have plenty of growing left to do (and by plenty, I mean... PLENTY), but God has taught us so much through having children: lessons of humility and perseverance and lessons of mercy and grace. I am overwhelmed sometimes by how much I love my children and how much I enjoy giving them gifts and showing them my love. I have learned that when they call out for me - whether in joy or in need, I love to answer. How much more does my Father -who loves with a perfect, everlasting love- love to give His children gifts, demonstrate His love for us, or answer when we call out to Him? It changes the way I pray when I consider that.  

Just one more picture, because I'm crazy about these two...

"From the fullness of His grace, we have received one blessing after another." 

Amazing grace, if you ask me.