Eternity Has Arrived

I abandoned my own blog for a week and have to admit I've not been keeping up with the blogs I typically read either; I have some catching up to do. I've got a lot of projects in the works, my munchkins are all home from school for the week for winter break, and we spent the day with Mallory and Hailey for their birthday on Wednesday. I've said this so many times this week but I thought the day would never come. When they were born, the age of five seemed an eternity away. They've transitioned from being babies to being toddlers and now from being toddlers to being little girls. The pair of them are a couple of the brightest kids I've ever known and there is so much about this time in their lives that I want to remember.

They totally and completely look up to their older sisters and brother without a doubt. They are daddy's girls and Tyler is their hero. They both love everything Faith and Karli love, from High School Musical, Hannah Montana, and The Jonas Brothers, to the silly clapping songs they learn at school that Faith and Karli teach them. They run around the house singing "bang, bang choo- choo train, wind me up, I do my thang..." on and on daily because the big girls do. Faith and Karli have taught them every word to the Taylor Swift hit Romeo and Juliet. I pray daily that they find their Prince Charming and their happily ever after. They said a girl chooses a man like her father so all my girls will be in excellent shape. Their future husbands have big shoes to fill.

They each have their own strengths and their own personalities. Mallory is strong and outgoing, a leader, and a bit bossy. Hailey, compared to her peers at school, is also a strong leader but much more passive at home. But each of them are always willing to share, trade, and make sacrifices for the other. Mallory is a bit ahead of Hailey in the learning curve at school. She recognizes a few more letters and numbers than Hailey, but Hailey can swim the length of a pool by herself. She's never taken a swim class and her daddy has taught her everything she knows. I think she's a natural.

They are both entertainers at heart. Hailey especially loves to make us laugh. They each have their own little quirky things they pull out of their hats at any given moment and before long they have us all in stitches. Dinner time is a riot around here. They love to sing and dance.

I want to always remember what it's like when we snuggle. They're my snugglebugs. I want to always remember how sweet their voice is at this age. The way they pick up a tune so easily like their Mama. The way a song just rises out of their spirits and they make up the words and sing to Jesus. I want to remember the twinkle in their eye and pray it never goes away. I pray that they grow up to be not only hearers of the word but doers also. I pray they grow to be kind, empathetic, and loving woman.

The pair of them have filled our hearts and our lives with such blessing. With so much joy; joy unspeakable. As much as the two of them are a package they are separate individuals and I pray that I have the strength and guidance to support them when it comes time for them to feel separate and be different. That they always know how special they are as individuals. That the Lord blessed us with them both on the same day merely five minutes apart but he has gifted them uniquely and has a unique design for each of their lives. Funny, at this age they think they have to grow up and marry twins! Who knows, there is a cute set of five-year-old boys that live next door. I pray they always know how special they each are to all of us.

I'm especially proud of my older children. We don't seem to have the "youngest sibling" factor in our family. The older three are just as blessed by them both as my husband and I are as parents. They each have already demonstrated how nurturing and caring they are and I know that having siblings so much younger will help form them into wonderful parents themselves.

One thing I've learned along the way...don't let your children sleep in your bed! This has always been sort of a rule for us but when the kids are sick or other circumstances exist, I'm willing to make an exception. Until this week. Mallory has had a bad cough and is having a tough time sleeping so she's crawled into bed with us a few times this week. Well, Hailey wakes up and sees her missing so she climbs in as well. Before long, I wake up sandwiched between my stocky husband and a toddlers butt cheek with another ones legs across my torso. No more sleepovers!

I saw a headline on MSN.com about some essays that people had written titled "How lucky am I to have so much to lose." The conversations in my home recently have been deep and challenging but the Lord has guided those chats and broken down walls and barriers. I am truly blessed with a new revelation of just how blessed I am. I could not ask for more.