We have spent September and October just getting into the flow of things. You know school, work, church, REPEAT school, work, church, REPEAT, well you get the picture. Although it seems like an endless cycle I know you understand how much happens in between the lines. I was thinking the other night that I wish I had a way to bottle up some of the precious moments of every day life. For instance, Ian's bed time hugs, when he squeezes me sooo tight I can't breathe and then insists, seconds later, I haven't hugged him yet just so he can do it again. Or, the quiet moments with Peyton when I realize we are both being so quiet because we have been dragged into the lines of a good book and my heart swells that we share such a thirst for reading and knowledge. And, the flip my heart still does when my husband grins at me (mush I know!) Then those other moments, the ones I would like to pretend never happen and sometimes think I might need a padded room just to make it through. The impossibility of ever having a smooth morning, one where everybody gets up when asked (not after time 252, blankets stripped off, and threats of 530 bedtimes being proclaimed), that I have the right shirt clean (because if the one Ian wants to wear isn't in his closet, well it may go into the dryer for a second with a little bounce cuz sometimes it's just not worth the battle), that I actually checked book bags the night before and home work is done (not hastily scribbled in between bites of Lucky Charms), that the fruit I set out actually gets eaten (and my guilt over cold cereal for breakfast is assuaged), that I actually have enough gas in my car to make it to work after successfully maneuvering through school time morning traffic and drop off (why does it always seem to be on E?). The secret desire that my sons suddenly have nothing to fight about ever and are suddenly helpful and eat every vegetable I put on their plate, while saying "please" and "thank you". The moment I open my laundry door and then close it again because it might possibly have grown legs and I need back up. Oh those glorious moments of living, of trudging through every day life together and still managing to love one another, the perfectness of being a family.
We decided to let the boys play hooky last week and skipped town for a much needed camping trip, interrupting our routine. We only went about an hour away but so well worth it. Camping has become our favorite family activity. At no other time do we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner in one anothers company for 4 days straight. Or play board game after board game (our current favorites are Blockus and Spotcha but we threw in a round of Sorry and UNO just because they are always fun). Our legs are a little sore after a 4 mile mountain bike/hike experience (thank goodness they talked me out of the 12 mile one, it is highly probable I would have needed to be carried out on a stretcher!) We sat around the campfire, roasted smores, and just had a good time. I'm so appreciative that we have the flexibility to do these things and I hope, just by simply writing it, that I never take these moments for granted.
And so Our World continues on and we return to what makes us the Strand's. It's not perfect but there is nothing I would trade it for.
