I love my life

Before you read the title of this post and think, "Oh, great! Another post about how perfect someone's life is! Ugh!" read on and see that this is not a post about everything fabulous in my life (though I will touch on many of those too). A while ago I read an article titled "Carpe Diem" that was posted on facebook. A mother named Glennon Melton talks about all of the old ladies who stop her when she is out with her young children and say "Oh, Enjoy every moment. This time goes by so fast." She mentions how guilty that can make her feel because she doesn't always "enjoy every moment." She goes on to talk about Chronos time, regular time that is sometimes slow moving for parents and Kairos time, which is God's time, moments when time stands still and we cherish our role as parent.

I want to share some of the random moments I have experienced lately, taking place in both Chronos and Kairos time. Here are the two munchkins responsible for most of these moments in my life:

THOMAS

• Thomas has cut his top two front teeth over the past couple weeks, and another is almost through. He has four total now, which amazes me since Maybrie didn't have her first tooth till she was 11 mos. old! He has been fussy and his nose runs like crazy, but when he is happy he is really happy. His cuteness kills me every time he smiles and laughs with his funny little teeth showing!
• He is 8 months old now and is almost crawling. He moves backward but not forward, which often leaves him distressed. It is fun to watch him move and play with toys.
• Thomas is still the softest, squishiest, most kissable baby boy! I LOVE it!
• We have discovered Thomas is ticklish on high thighs, which are extra chubby and fun to squeeze... love his belly laugh so much!
• He is an awesome eater. He discovered Gerber graduates lil' crunchies snacks and it is so funny to watch him devour them. He gets so excited! He is really getting the hang of finger foods now.
• He LOVES the bath tub. He could splash and splash forever!
• I love him in his Thomas the tank engine shirt... the name fits!

MAYBRIE

• Maybrie LOVES to sing! She is constantly singing, making up songs about everything she does. Often you can catch a line from a primary or Disney song as well.
• She loves dresses right now and always wants music on so she can dance. Her favorite is "kid music" which refers to the Disney station on Pandora.
• Maybrie loves going to the library for story time each week and especially loves picking out two DVD's to check out each week. They have a good selection and we have managed to get many of the Disney movies we don't own. The best part to me is that it is free!
• She is completely potty trained now and has only had a couple accidents while sleeping. I love buying diapers for only Thomas now!
• She loves to help me cook, especially bake, in the kitchen. She always has to pull up her step stool and see everything that is going on. Her favorite part is licking the mixers and bowl when we make something sweet... of course, what kid doesn't love that?!
• Maybrie is very creative and is always retelling very detailed stories. I love watching her play with her dolls and barbies. My favorite is when she has them play church... so cute!

Licking the mixing spoons after making brownies... I think she got just as much on her face as she did in her mouth!

Being silly wearing daddy's shoes

Random tidbits:

• The other night at dinner Maybrie was wearing this cute puffy white dress that I happen to love. Without thinking I poured her some grape juice. She has never spilled it before, but of course I should have known this night would be different because of what she was wearing. Sure enough she bumped her straw sending the entire cup pouring down the front of her dress! I pulled the dress off and left Brian to clean her and the floor up so I could save the beloved dress! Brian didn't think I could get that much grape juice out of a white dress... but, lo and behold, it all came out! Apparently the spill shocked Maybrie so much she wet her underwear... Brian said her reaction and concern was hilarious. Needless to say, it was a rather eventful dinner!
• Maybrie can be very loud and obnoxious sometimes, and usually at the moment I can't stand it anymore she gets Thomas laughing so hard that her annoying behavior actually becomes acceptable and entertaining! She is great at making him laugh.
• I am in the best shape of my life... probably healthier than I ever was before having kids, even though I was always skinny. I exercise and eat better now and I just feel stronger overall. It is nice to enjoy being in my own skin.
• I have been doing really well on almost all of my goals for the new year. I have especially noticed the difference daily scripture study has made for me, and the added spirit is wonderful.
• Maybrie has discovered her illustrated Book of Mormon and loves to follow along in her book with the DVD reading it. I am amazed by how much she actually remembers. Her favorite story is Lehi's dream, fondly referred to as "the fruit one." I caught her singing "Hold onto the rod and get the fruit" at the table during snack time the other day, it was pretty cute.

Life can be very crazy sometimes, and I often can't wait for Brian to get home at the end of the day or for the hour or two of quiet after the kids are in bed. But I really have a lot of "Kairos" moments that keep me going and make me realize what a truly great life I live.

In a nutshell, life is good!