A time and a season...

Each year when Mother's Day roles around, I look at my children and feel so blessed for the little miracles that they are. I especially love having new babies around on Mother's Day. Of course there are intense feelings of love towards all your children, but the feelings and emotions you have towards your babies are truly something special, in part I think because they are so little for such a short time. My Mother's Days right now are not the relaxing, easy going days I hope they will become one day when the children are older, but the same chaotic craziness that exists every day. I guess my children don't realize I'm supposed to sleep in on Mother's Day. :) I am perfectly content though with the way things are. Yes, it would be nice to stay in bed passed 7:00 once in a while, or to get a complete night's sleep, or even to go 5 minutes without someone needing something, but that all will come, and when it does, I will look back and miss these tired, crazy days when my children were so little and needed me. I'm a big believer in "times and seasons". There is joy to be found in each season of life, and although it is so easy to wish for the time when we used to... or the time when we will be able to..., but in doing so, you miss enjoying the moment.
Every year on Mother's Day my mom sends us a little letter or poem with her thoughts on Motherhood. In case you don't know my mom, she is truly an amazing person! Honestly, there isn't anything she can't do. She is an amazing artist, a talented writer, a beautiful singer (she almost went pro when she was younger), and super creative, just to name a few of her many talents. So, each year her letters take on a different format, and are truly literary masterpieces. Her letter this year talked about the various stages of motherhood and how with each stage she thought that it would never get any harder, and then it always did.
Sometimes I too think, "can it really get any harder than this, with 5 little ones and two young sets of twins?" But, I do know it will get harder. But with those new challenges, will also come new joys. It is my time and season to have a loud, messy, chaotic house, with 5 voices needing me at once, to be sleep deprived, and to find little time to myself. But this too will pass, and when it does, I'm not so sure I will welcome it. I love having little ones. I love the crazy, silly things they do. I love watching them grow and learn and wonder at the world. I love the sweet giggles and smiles my babies give me for no reason at all. And I love their sweet faces when I am the only one that can dry their tears. I love being a mother and feel so blessed the Lord has trusted me with these little spirits. They truly are miracles!

The Boys

I just have to say a little something about my boys - not the little boys, the big boys. (Yes, we are trying to figure out what to call everyone - we used to call Gavin and Kaden "the boys" or people would say "the twins", but that doesn't really work now, since the same could be said for either set of twins. So for the time being, we distinguish between the two sets by calling them "the boys" and "the babies". When the babies get older, we will just have to figure something else out.)
Anyway, sometimes I feel like these two just kind of get lost in the mix. There is always a lot going on with Sam since she is in school, and well, it goes without saying, the babies take up a lot of my time and need a lot of attention. But, I have to say, these two boys have really been super. I have seen so much growth in them within the past few months. I think they will always be busy, crazy boys, but lately they have just seemed a little calmer. It seems like I'm not getting after them all the time, and they aren't spending most of the day in time out, which wasn't exactly the case a few months ago. Granted, I'm sure their current obsession with the wii does contribute quite a bit to keeping them out of trouble. I just look at my little boys and don't see babies, or even toddlers anymore. As they like to tell me all the time, they are big boys.
They are going to be 5 in a couple months. Life with twins is so busy all the time, and time definitely moves quickly trying to keep up with them. These two have definitely kept me busy, but honestly, with their cute personalities, all the frustrations are worth it since they keep me rolling every day. They always have something to say! Gavin told me he was "fabulous" the other day. Kaden likes to explain to me how things are going to happen, and exactly what the plan is going to be. The other day they saw something they liked and both told me it was "wicked." They have awesome imaginations! Whenever we see a yellow sports car while we are driving they tell me that it must be "Bumblebee" and every red and blue semi we pass is "Optimus Prime". Once they even told me they saw "Doofenshmirtz" driving around (he is from Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel). The other day we were getting them ready to go to their speech class and Gavin came up to me with his sunglasses on and his hat backwards and said "Mom, I'm a PJ". I had to ask him a few times what he was saying, and then he said, "You know, a PJ, the guy who does this (and he moves his hands back and forth) with his hands." "Oh, a DJ!" Yeah, I have no idea where they picked that one up. Kaden also had his hat on backwards, then decided he didn't want to be a DJ, so he turned his hat around right, put on his hoodie, and said, "Mom, I'm a Jedi." They love to make up their own names for things. For instance: Luke Skywalker is "black suit guy" and Wolverine is "scratch man". They love dressing up, and I often see Spider man walking around the house. They also love to wear helmets and masks, can you see a pattern here:
Yes, they love all the boy things; Transformers, Iron man, and right now, their favorite is Star Wars. I can't even tell you how many times we have watched those movies in the past few weeks.

But, my absolute favorite thing about these two is despite their mischievous nature, and the fact they love to tell me "no", they are two super sweet, adorable boys! Pretty often, and for no reason at all, they will come up to me and say "Mom, I love you!" and give me a big hug. They love for me to read to them, love hugs, and even still like to cuddle with me sometimes. I don't even mind it when they tell me, "Mom, you're the man!" (Yes, that is a sure sign there are too many boys in my house!) They are super big brothers, and absolutely love the babies. They also love each other! They are always worried about each other when the other is hurt or not feeling well, and love to give each other hugs after they've hurt each others feelings. These two definitely keep me on my toes, and like to make life interesting for me, but I couldn't love them more!