February 14, 2008 - In Perspective

Things around the house have been their normal state of chaos. I'm not sure what I would do without a nutty household. I would probably go crazy in the silence, but then again I'm not exactly sure what silence really is.
The boys are up to their typical selves-wrestling each other in my LIVINGROOM, flushing the toilet when one of them is in the shower and food fights galore (great! more catsup on the ceiling)!!! It is certainly a different situation with the girls. Their brawls consist of running up to the other, stealing the toy and running around in circles through the livingroom and kitchen while the other SCREAMS and chases. I suppose if you really thing about it, they are all alike. :-)
The girls have been sick over the last week. LOVELY! Mary brought a nice bug home from her friends at daycare and has passed it around to everyone, especially Ella. Poor Ella has just been laying around the house for three days feeling completely yucky. She doesn't want to play. She doesn't want to eat. I feel so bad. I wish there was something (besides cold medicine) that I could do to make her feel better. Then again, perhaps I should be enjoying this quiet time (in between whining) because she has NO voice to scream at her sister (Mary doesn't have much more of a voice then Ella)! Sigh. The joys of parenthood.
I've been working on Ella's adoption video lately and listening to a bunch of songs trying to figure out which ones to use. There are many songs (especially country songs) that I really had never listened to the words before. Several of them have made me think. They talk about enjoying what you have and enjoying the "here and now" and especially enjoying your family. These words seem to have stuck in my head and are replaying over and over in my thoughts. I really cannot believe my children are growing up as fast as they are. I'm almost mad at myself for not appriciating them more. My time is running short with my boys. Adam leaves for boot camp five months from today. FIVE MONTHS! That may seem like a long time for a senior waiting to gruaduate and move on with his life, but that seems like only a few heatbeats for a mother about to lose her first born child. It's stirred up all kinds of feelings inside me. Jake is learning to drive and Canaan is not far behind him with his permit. Before I know it, they are going to be gone too. The girls are growing fast too. It's amazing how much they have grown and blossomed.
So, I started looking through pictures (probably should not have done that). My goodness, where did my little ones go?
Here is Adam then (Jan 1990)...

And here is Adam now...

Here is Jake then (Dec 1992)...

And here is Jake now...

Here is Canaan then (Nov 1993)...

And here is Canaan now...

Here is Mary then (June 2005)...

And here is Mary now...

Here is Ella then (approx. March 2005)...

And here is Ella now...


I just can't believe they are growing up so fast. I wish I had a magic remote control that would allow me to slow down the important parts (learning how to walk or ride a bike) and fast forward through the no-so-fun parts (fights and words that I wish I didn't say). If anyone finds one of those kind of remotes, please let me know. In the mean time, I'm going to start noticing more of what my kids do and TRY not to notice some of the little bad things (I said TRY because I DO have three teenagers after all, so there are no promises).