little moments

In the time that I have been a mommy (not quite 3 years), my mottos have been to love and laugh as much as possible, do not sweat the small stuff but cherish the small moments not just the big ones, know little, ordinary things often bring the most heart swelling moments, live in the moment even if it's messy! I am the kind of mom that LIVES for the little moments, the ones that often no one else sees. Those to me are little gifts from God and reminders that I am so deeply blessed to be a mother.
The nights when I am lying with my son for bed time and we are forehead to forehead looking at each other and he just startes laughing, and I start laughing, and we laugh together for 2 minutes straight. The kind of laugh that just keeps going over nothing at all. A moment I will tuck away and never forget. Laughter is so good for the soul.
The nights my daughter has a hard time going to bed on her own so there I am bent over her crib, stroking her face and she takes my hand, wraps it in her arms and hugs it. I lean over to give her a kiss and she hugs me so long and tight with no words being spoken from either of us. And unspoken moment of the deepest love and adoration. My heart bursts.
The morning cuddles while watching cartoons.
The cutest little giggles that come from being tickled.
The excitement and eagerness that come from being allowed to help me bake or cook.
There are so many little moments in everyday life that are unforgettable.
The best one last week came from a time of arts and crafts out back. A weekly occurrence in our house is finger painting, sometimes even rock and pine cone painting. We were on the patio with our washable paint and suddenly Kaden paints my arm. I give him a look and cracks up laughing and this repeats. His laugh is the deepest kind from the belly, full of enjoyment. They beging to paint my cheeks and nose all the while laughing their heads off and although I was being covered in paint I was fully living in the moment with them and that to me is what life is about. I painted them back, more laughter ensues, they paint me and this goes on for some time. Those are the moments I live for. PURE joy and laughter and fun, not caring about the mess being made, the clean up that will have to take place but the memories that were made right then and there. You can't buy precious moments like that.
It's in those moments that I am so grateful I get to be home with these two. I would just die if I missed out on those treasured little moments. Those moments can be found anywhere if you choose to let go and just live. Live fully and be as present as possible in the laughter, the joy, even the messes that are happening. Messes can be cleaned up, paint can be washed off and toys can be put away. I know I'll never forget that spontaneous little paint war that led to the most precious laughter and biggest smiles from my two love bugs.




The next time we painted, they began painting their faces again!