Helpers

We survived the first week of Summer vacation, which might be the hardest week to survive.  It is much busier having Liam home but I appreciate fewer commitments and more time to spend just being with the kids.  Kids have a much slower pace than life often requires but during the summer we get to embrace it.  In fact, my very favorite reason for being a stay-at-home-mom is having the ability to embrace the slower pace of kids.  This week I have had a few opportunities to step back and appreciate the sweet moments of small children.

There was the day we went to have a picnic with Spencer and while I was trying to make sure everyone was dressed and sunscreened for swimming lessons before Liam helped Amelie make the peanut butter sandwiches for us.  They made a big mess doing it, but Liam was so proud when he told me "I make the best peanut butter sandwiches!" and then proceeded to tell me his exact method.  I loved watching the tender way that he instructed Amelie with patience.  I feel so much gratitude and joy that I was able to witness this simple moment of learning and sharing between siblings.

 And then there is Emmett who is always there to "help" sweep the dirt into the dustpan and dump it into the trash, or "help" with the vacuuming.  19 month olds are not especially helpful, but there is something marvelous about his earnest desire to do something that actually would be helpful if he was a little bit bigger.

The rewards of parenting small children are often very simple, but I do appreciate and notice them.