have i mentioned how much i love these kids???

oliver jack has passed through his 8th month of life with the same joy that he has had for all of his previous months. harper comes home from school and treats him like her own personal baby doll. she carries him from room to room, and honestly, the break she offers is incredibly refreshing. sometimes she will ask, "mommy, can i take jack-jack to my room?" at first i would tell her that i didn't think it was a good idea, but now, after i make sure all of the little bits and pieces of knick knacks that harper likes to collect have been removed from the floor, i welcome her request. calvary takes a little more no nonsense role with the baby. for harper, everything oliver jack does is sweet and cute. calvary will be quick to tell him, "if you drop that again I AM NOT GETTING IT! i am not playing a game!" a good balance, i think.

i have been trying to teach calvary that he is the oldest boy and therefore the "man" of the house while kyle is away. i want him to have a role that makes the middle child birth order seem a bit less important as he realizes how important he is to our family. right now his man of the house roles are to open the doors for everyone, find and destroy all insects that are in the house, protect his brother and sister (when she lets him), and get a job. bread winner for life! harper has a tough time letting calvary do things like open the doors, but i have tried to tell her that it is important that we teach calvary how to be a gentleman so that he will know how to treat his wife one day. it is also important that harper knows how to be treated like a lady.

harper has officially transitioned from preschooler to kindergartener with much more ease than i ever imagined. i do not like it. i do not like it one bit. but, i do like how much she is enjoying her class. her teacher has relayed that harper is very polite and well-behaved. i was so relieved to hear this because she had been acting like a loon once she got home, but i finally realized that by the time she got home she was so tired that she needed to let off some steam. one day as she got into the car she sat in her seat and looked at me and said, "it is tiring being good all day!" i bet.

i have had moments this week where i just look at my babies and my heart melts. even now, thinking about their sweet hearts and the their cute grins makes my eyes burn with tears. i know that one day i will miss how busy i am now. one day i will walk in to a grocery store by myself and instead of feeling relieved i will feel lonely and incomplete. one day i will go to the pool and think that it is all too quiet. one day i will go to bed at 9:00 not because i am exhausted but because there is nothing else to do. one day i will not have three children vying for my attention. but today i have their sweet arms wrapped around my neck and oliver jack's slobber on my check and i cannot let myself think about the time that is quickly passing; instead, i revel in the beauty of today...

harper was given a book by merriwether for her birthday called all in a day by cynthia rylant. the book reminds me that, "the past is sailing off to sea, the future's fast asleep. a day is all you have to be, it's all you get to keep." and watching harper start kindergarten, calvary step up to his gentlemanly duties with pride, and oliver jack approach his first birthday has me wanting the future to sleep deeper so that i can dig my heels in to today.