Where did my babies go?

My boys are getting bigger.  Everyday they are changing and getting bigger and bigger.  People who haven't seen them for a while often say, "they have turned into boys."  It makes me proud and sad at the same time.  I can't believe how quickly the last years have gone.  I can vividly remember Sean's first night home and Jackson's time in the NICU.  It seems like just yesterday, but at the same time I see the boys in my home and realize they aren't babies anymore.  I hate packing up the boys' clothes because it reminds me that they will never be that size again.  Those moments are gone.  They are just precious memories.  Maybe that's why I procrastinate on putting their stuff away.  (Probably not, I am just really good at procrastinating.)  

At the same time that I hate seeing the boys grow up and not be little anymore, I love seeing the people that they are becoming.  Sean is very compassionate and can make friends with anyone.  He is often not good at remembering his "friends" names, but we are working on that.  Sean does things on his own time schedule.  There is no forcing Sean to do something he doesn't want to do.  Hopefully this trait will serve him well when he is exposed to negative peer pressure.  Sean is also fiercely loyal to his friends.  You don't mess with one of his buddies or he will come to their rescue.  Jackson is the life of our party.    My sister has nicknamed him "frat boy" because that is what he is like.  He likes to dance, be silly and wrestle.  Now, others of you may not know this about him because he gets shy in front of groups of people.  Jackson is also very independent.  He knows what he likes and he will not settle for less.  His persistence at times can be fierce.  As part of his independence, he has to do things his own way.  The minute you tell him where to put a sticker on his Sunday School worksheet is the minute you can guarantee it won't end up there.

Since time travels at warp speed, I will enjoy the snuggles, the hugs, the kisses, the yelling of "MOM" when they are trying to get my attention, and the everyday events.  I pray that I can always stay in the moment and not waste a minute of their childhood.  Yesterday is gone and we are not promised tomorrow, so all we have is today.

School's back in

Well, today is Sean's first day of first grade.  I don't think he was too nervous about starting back.  One of his friends from Kindergarten is in his class which I am happy about.  My morning started a little hectic when it was time to take Sean to school and I could not find my keys.  I called Cleve at work and he ended up heading home.  Just before he arrived, I found them.  I felt bad making a stressful day for Cleve even more hectic, but it gave him a chance to give Sean a hug and kiss before we left for school.

We parked across the street from the school and traffic was crazy as it always is on the first day of school.  I held Sean's hand as we were walking up to the school and then when we got close to the school building he let it go.  I think he wanted to assert his independence as he was walking into school.  I was able to meet his teacher briefly and she seems nice.  Rumor has it she is strict but nice.  That is the perfect combo for Sean.  He needs someone who will keep him motivated.

My prayer for Sean is that he will have a good year and continue to learn the things he is being taught.  That he will make good friends and that he will be a positive influence in their lives.  That he will be more of an influencer than he is influenced by those around him.  I am so thankful for Sean.  He is such a blessing.

Passing along

There are many things that we pass along to those we love.  One of the things that my Dad loves to do is fish.  I loved seeing him sitting down on the dock with my boys this summer at Nana and Pop's passing along his love of fishing.  This is a precious picture of the three of them.  Sean at this time in his life has a little more patience for sitting and fishing than his younger brother Jackson.  

Sometimes I wonder what I am passing along to my boys.  Am I passing along good habits or bad?  Am I passing along the important things that I really want them to learn?  Am I passing along the most important thing, my faith in Jesus Christ?  Whether to follow Jesus or not is a personal decision.  It is not a decision that I can make for the boys, but it is my desire that they will make that decision for themselves.  Both of them have chosen to ask Jesus into their hearts and Sean has even chosen to be baptized.  My desire is that they will continually seek after God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength.  If I pass nothing else along to them, that is the one thing I want to pass along.  I want to live my life in such a way that they too will desire a personal relationship with Jesus.  

New friends and old

I have been thinking a lot about friendships lately.  Recently a new site was designed so that people who went to Anderson University can contact and network with one another.  It has been really fun to see where some of the people I went to college with are now and what they are doing.  With each new phase of life it gets more and more difficult to keep in contact with ones who mean so much to us.  

It is also fun to develop new friendships and form new relationships.  The church we attend is growing by leaps and bounds so there is always someone new to get to know.  Some of these will become close friends and others will stay acquaintances.  For the past year and a half I have been establishing new friendships with the ladies with which I work, while trying to maintain some of the relationships with the women I worked with before.  It is sometimes difficult to invest in all of these different relationships.

Some of the most important relationships we have though are with our family.  These are people who are with us through all of life's challenges and changes.  I hope and pray that my boys remain friends throughout life and that they always look out for one another.  I hope that instead of competing with one another that they continually are kind to one another and look out for the other's best interests.  When all is said and done, I hope that they not only call each other brother but also friend.

I think of the old brownies song that I used to sing when I was little.  "Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver and the other gold."

Time alone

I love our boys, but it is so nice to have some time to ourselves as well.  Cleve's parents have the boys for the weekend and it has been nice for Cleve and me to have some time to reconnect.  We went out to dinner and shopping last night and went out for lunch today.  We tried a new restaurant last night.  We went to Flattop Grill.  It was really good and we will definitely go back.  After church today we went to one of our favorite restaurants.  It is called Friends and they serve Greek food.  They have great gyros.  Since we didn't have the boys we decided to get some grocery shopping done. It is always nice to go to Wal-mart without the boys because they are miserable to shop with.  They are loud and want to touch everything in sight.  Tonight we are going to Amy's to celebrate Mom's birthday.  Overall, nothing exciting, but a good weekend just the same.

New to blogging

There are a few people's blogs that I have been reading lately and decided that I would like to start one for our family.  Sometimes it is hard to keep in touch with people and this gives us another avenue to use.  School is starting again soon and life will be getting even busier.  Sean is going to be a first grader and Jackson is Pre-K.  We are looking forward to what another school year holds.  

We have had a great summer.  I hate to see it go.  We were able to go to Cousin's Camp to start the summer.  This is where we get all of the Swihart cousin's kids together for a few days of family bonding.  After cousin's camp we went down to Tennessee to see Nana and Pops.  Following Nana and Pop's, we headed up to the cabin for the Swihart reunion.  Unfortunately during the reunion we got to visit the Emergency Room in Kendalville.  Sean and Brianna fell off the pontoon boat onto the concrete in the pole barn.  Brianna got 6 stitches in her forehead and Sean got 4 stitches on the inside of his upper lip.  Beside the stitches, we had a good weekend.  A few days after the reunion we headed up to Pentwater, MI, for a week of camping.  Most days we headed to the beach mid-morning and stayed most of the day.  It's been a good summer.  We try not to spend too much time at home during the summer.  With Cleve working for the schools, summer is our playtime.  Still hoping to get a little more camping time and maybe a few days at my sister's lake before the winter hibernation begins.  Winter is definitely not my favorite season.  The sad thing is my tan is already starting to fade and I was just at the lake last weekend.  Oh well.