Although life with small kids is crazy and many times exhausting, I dread the day when my children start to grow up. I say (almost) on a daily basis that I don't want these times to end. I wish I could have a constant recording of every moment so I don't forget how they are right now. I cherish these years. Christmas this year has been full of magic, excitement, story telling, santa letters, wonderfully amazing behavior, and a whole lot of sparkling, innocent, excited little guys yearning for Santa to come.
There has been presents made, pictures drawn, service rendered, and many moments that I lay in bed thinking how I don't want these moments to pass. One particular time was when we were taking around our neighbor gifts. As I was getting them ready, I was selfishly thinking how grateful I was to have kids to pawn off doing the deliveries for me. All I had to do was drive around and they would go to each door. Well... my once selfish attitude turned into pure love and a few tears as I watched my kids, door after door walk up to the house holding a box of chocolates... one with a sword tucked in his back and the other in her ballerina skirt looking so small against the large house doors. When the doors would open, I would hear from the car.... "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" as they waved goodbye to our neighbors as they walked back to the car. It made me think back a couple years ago when Kaden would ask each neighbor if he could sing them a christmas song before he left. He did this all alone, as I once again sat in my car... too "grown up" to go to the door myself.
Looking at Christmas through my kids eyes has brought so much happiness to me this holiday season. Santa is a remarkable person, with the power to brighten lives just with his very name. Santa has the power to make notty kids nice, nice kids nicer and parents the ability to pull the "santa's not going to come" card as often times as needed (and it will work every time).
Most of all... I loved the magic. The magic in seeing Santa, the magic of riding the polar express to the north pole, the sound of bells outside your window, Kaden watching outside the car window on christmas eve and seeing Santa's sleigh high in the sky and telling me to hurry home because we had to beat him to our house, Avery saying she was worried that Santa would wake her up with his big boots and Kaden reassuring her that Santa is magic and he can just tip toe so she wouldn't hear a thing....and most of all... the light in their eyes, Christmas morning. Kaden running out of his room... half asleep but the first words out of his mouth were "Dad, I totally heard bells last night", the anticipation of seeing what was in the family room but waiting patently for Brian to go check everything out, the watching them jumping and screaming when they did see the lit up tree with presents all around it.
As I think about my kids, I often feel like I'm living in my own little slice of heaven. Everything is new and exciting. Nothing holds them back from their imagination.....and they use their imaginations every day! They are free from whatever it is that jades us as adults and they are just.... happy. I don't want these times to end. I have so much to learn from them. I can honestly say that these 3 little kid have brought me more happiness and fullfillment then I could ever have imagined. My family is my greatest gift this Christmas season. I am so blessed.
