Just Stop.

Stop. 

 Just for a minute.

  Stop the homework, the softball games, the soccer games. Stop the dentist, orthodontic, and eye doctor appointments. Stop the field trips, the meetings, the cruises.  Stop the texts and the e-mails.  Stop the science fair and the book reports.  Stop the gardening, the pool maintenance, and the endless housework. Stop the trips to the lake. Stop the girls camp prep. Stop the cooking and the mountains of laundry. Stop the errands... oh please could someone stop the never-ending errands.

Stop it all. 

Not forever, but just for a small moment.

  Let it all stop so I can sit down and reflect on my life. Let me take a minute to breathe and appreciate my blessings.  Life should not be so busy that I can't sit down and blog about our busy life.

  Years from now when things are quiet, slow and boring, I want to be able to look back on this blog and remember the crazy times and remember how I felt.  

So how do I feel?  Busy, sure.  Tired, yes.  But more than that, I feel happy, content.  I feel grateful.  I am in love with my family and want to remember the stage that everyone is in now.

Alli is 9 yrs. old.  She is fierce and competitive.  She is an athlete and is currently in love with soccer and wishing she had time for every sport out there.  She is an excellent student and constantly pushes herself, probably harder than she should. Say something can't be done and she will absolutely do it.   She loves to read, play the piano, sing, swim, bike, and run.  Her favorite color is purple.  She hates her beautiful, wild and crazy, curly long hair.  She puts it in a ponytail everyday. She prefers comfort over fashion yet she secretly yearns to wear gigantic earrings. She is obedient and has a strong yearning for everything to be fair and right.

Lydia is 10 yrs old.  She is beautiful and exotic.  She loves fashion and art.  She is smart and funny.  She is often anxious and still loves her cuddle. She will share her last piece of anything, even if it means she is left with nothing.  She loves to speak her own made-up language known as ding-a-ling-in.  Lydia is our social butterfly and has lots of friends.  She plays softball and piano.  She is very conscientious and would rather turn things in early, because to be on time is to be late in her mind.  She is an emotional girl and is starting to feel the pull of her hormones.  She has silky, shoulder length hair that I love.  She has the most beautiful and expressive eyes.  She can kill you with an angry look or let you see right into her heart.  Her heart is tender and she tries to hide it behind a tough facade, but her mommy sees right through it.

Kate is 14 and reminds me of what I was like at that age.  She is shy and quiet and makes good grades.  She is obedient and helpful.  She has stepped into her role as the oldest at home now with grace and confidence.  She is beautiful and slender.  She plays the piano and the flute.  She wishes she had less homework.  She is often tired.  She does not enjoy talking about her feelings but is letting me have little insights into her life and thoughts more and more. She is funny and fun to hang out with.  She love to cook and bake.  She likes babysitting and being in charge.  Little kids love her.  She loves to mow the lawn and has recently started cleaning the office for her dad.  I can't believe that she will be starting high school in the fall.

Matt is 19 and almost three months into his mission.  I miss him more than I thought possible.  It is a weird mix of emotions to be so happy that he is on a mission, but so very sad that he is gone.  He sends home long, detailed e-mails every week and seems to be doing great.  He tells his sisters to listen to their parents because we are right about everything.  That statement alone is worth the months apart!  He is not my little wild boy anymore.  He is a funny, thoughtful, loving young man.  He loves people and he loves to laugh.  His testimony grows weekly and he is enjoying Colorado.  He still loves Krispy Kreme doughnuts but says he needs his suits altered from the weight he is losing riding a bike everyday.  I miss his face so much and cannot wait to talk to him on Mothers Day.

I have more to say. 

 I still have BethAnn & Zach and my beautiful grandson to talk about.  Not to mention my sweet husband.

But the little stop button that I pushed has just come dislodged. 

 The school bus is on it's way, the dryer is buzzing, and my napping grandson is waking up in the next room.  

This blog isn't perfect, but neither is my life.

 But I will take them just they way they are, because I love them and they are mine.