I Wish I Could Freeze This Moment

My sweet boys,
I wish I could freeze this moment.  This small, brief period of time when you are little.  But since I can't, I want to tell you about how you are, now, so that one day you will know.  And so I won't forget.

Matthew, you are the life of the party.  You love to be around others.  You especially love singing, dancing, and being funny.  You do not love to share (but we're working on this.  And, hey, you are a toddler after all).  You loved this Christmas season, and you are slowly starting to grasp who Jesus is.  You are becoming more of a participant in family prayer time, and you especially like to thank God for your family and your "buddies."  You have an amazing vocabulary, and some of your most impressive words and phrases are, "Hey Mommy!  How you doing?", "Mit-nu-free" (Christmas tree), elephant, macaroni, etc.  You can count to eleven, but you always skip four.  We're working on that, too.

You are so loving, and you give your love freely.  You aren't very shy, and you love to give kisses and hugs to just about anyone who looks like they could use one.  You love your brother, and, gosh, does he love you.  It brings tears to my eyes just writing this because it has been so amazing to see your bond grow in such a short time.

My prayer for you today, sweet boy, is that you would always love like this.  There are so many people who are alone or hurting, and you have the power to make their hearts hurt a little less just by being you.  I love this about you so much.  I believe that God is going to use you to love people all throughout your life.

Ben, you are the happiest baby I have ever met in my life!  You always have a smile on your face.  If you are crying, we know that something serious is wrong because you are so content.  You truly take joy in every little thing. When your brother walks into the room, you start cracking up because you love him so dang much.  When mommy gets you out of bed, you snuggle me for a few moments and babble at me (I think you're telling me about your dreams).  When daddy comes home after a long day, you start to flail your arms and legs and squeal in delight.  You smile at every person you meet and you are so easy to please. 

You are a great sleeper (thank Jesus for that!).  You have two new teeth that made their appearance just in time for Christmas.  You have eaten all of the basic vegetables, and the good news is that we seem to have another non-picky eater!  Yahoo!  You are so good at sitting up, which has made life so much more fun because it allows you to interact with your brother more. 

Ben, my prayer for you is that you would always be a good listener.  You are so laid back and take so much delight in observing others, and I pray that you would use this in a way that makes you a good, selfless friend.  That you would listen to your friends and family when they need someone to turn to.  That you would always find joy in others.  That you would always let people know how much they mean to you.

I love you boys so much.  I hope that you always know that.  Your daddy and I are so, so proud and happy to be your parents.  For years, I pleaded to God to allow me to be a mother.  And for years He made me wait.  I'm so thankful for that.

Because I was waiting for you.