Each Day’s a Gift

I am exhausted and tired but a good exhausted and tired! We spent the majority of the day Saturday cleaning and trying to organize ourselves for our upcoming vacation. Part of the day, we spent out in the country for a birthday party. My good friend’s twins had a large party. My kids had a great time running around outside. What a treat to be in a place, as a child, where you will not get yelled at for doing anything outside of asking for more candy.


Sidney spent the drive home mumbling, in and out of tears, “slide, slide, slide.” This crabbiness takes on a different tone for Tom and I. We think of the meek, shy child, we encountered in July. This is the same child who barely had the courage to lay her head on our shoulder until a month after she came home. No, the title of the blog does not refer to the gift of hearing her carry on but the gift of finally seeing her carefree. Giggling as her two foot frame was able to outrun mom across the grass, smiling ear to ear as we said “teeth,” while she hammed it up for a photo, and finally her courage going up to the mules used for rides without batting an eye.

After a day like today, when sugar consumption is high and naptime is low, I also watch the dynamic between brother and sister. Sweet play turns to carrying on and all out fighting. If you think Eli’s tall frame is any match for the 19 pound wonder, you’re wrong. Yes, her personality has taken new turns in the past few weeks. She has gone from quietly, sweetly playing, to loudly declaring her place in this family. She is acting like a normal 2 year old, and it’s great!