Not taking moments for granted

A couple weeks ago I was reviewing old photos on our computer. I stumbled across the one to the right and I wished I could place the moment in my mind. Based on the surroundings, it looks like we may have been at Costco. Looking at the photo brought back a flood of many fond memories pushing the buggy with my two kids in it.  I remember how they would share food and chat with each other.  I remember the giggles and I remember loving how they would hold hands and how often they would fall asleep on one and other in the jogging stroller.

Looking back at those special moments in time, I don't think I thought much of them at the time. I was just going about my daily activities, pushing my two kids...  Now in hindsight, I realize just how special those moments were.

I wish that I had of known the last time I would push both my kids in the buggy at the grocery store or the last time the two kids would be together in the jogging stroller. I know I would have pushed a little longer, snapped more photos, and just cherished the time with them.  But unfortunately we never know when those last moments will be.  We continue to go about our daily events without much thought to last moments.

On this past family day weekend, the kids decided they wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese.  Matthew is 12 and half and Megan is 10 and half so on the drive to Langley, I began to wonder if this trip might be a "last moment".  Both kids are getting older and are likely to eventually succumb to the pressure of what is and what isn't cool (although I hope they don't). I wonder if there might come a day when it won't be cool to go to Chuck E Cheese because it will be seen as a kiddies place.  So on Saturday, I just revelled in the moment of fun my kids, Scott and I were having. I played the games with them and we discussed which games might give us more tickets and why.  We laughed while we watched Scott play basketball grinning from ear to ear. And I just soaked up the moment, more aware of how special these times are.

Celebrating Family

What a wonderful long Family Day weekend my family had!

Friday night began with Scott and I taking the kids to the Lego movie.  This is a fantastic show with a terrific lesson.  I enjoyed watching the story unfold and had some quiet giggles to myself as I connected with the bad guy "Mr. Business".  I don't want to stay too much in case you plan to see the movie, but Mr. Business wants to use glue to keep certain lego pieces together... and it wasn't that long ago that I took some crazy glue to a few of Matthew's StarWars Lego ships.  Needless to say I felt like the movie was speaking to me directly!

Saturday Scott took the kids for a bike ride while I did homework.  Yes, I am enrolled in another course but this time for fun!  I am taking a Math course and really enjoying learning about the history and theory behind the subject for which I have grown so fond.  In the afternoon/evening we visited with one of Scott's friends, his spouse, and two twin girls.  We had lots of fun playing many games with the kids.  I have a new found favourite - Spot It! and plan to pick this up for a Valentine's Day present for M & M.  We have an adapted version of this game with NHL team logos but I like the original version better.

Sunday we had hoped to go skiing but the weather was a bit too cold.  Instead we went to the mall and searched for new ski gloves and snow pants for Matthew and learned that you should never wait until February to buy winter clothes as they have moved on to Spring!  Matt played a hockey game in the early evening and Scott and I watching The Help for the first time later in the night.  Although it was good, I felt the book was much better.

But the best part of the weekend was today when my entire family came together to celebrate my Mom's 70th birthday, which is tomorrow.  This year I have witnessed a few of my friends go through the loss of a parent.  Understanding that life is fragile, I wanted to convey to mom just how special she is to all of us, her family.  So together with my siblings, our spouses, and our kids we created a list of the 70 things that make my Mom so special.  My sister printed this list on nice paper and we framed it.  She loved this homemade gift, as well as the plate and bowl my kids made her.  As I watched her blow out the candles, surrounded my whole family, I could not have envisioned a more perfect end to Family Day.

Giving love...

Happy Valentine's Day to all!   I am just home from a wonderful "date" with my son, Matthew.   He chose to go to McDonalds and what a great lunch we had.   I don't get much time one on one with him anymore.   He is so busy with soccer and hockey and his Dad usually takes him early to get ready and I arrive right at game time, so I miss those talks in the car.   Today we caught up and although he is getting older, he still was happy to hold my hand and when he finished eating, he came and sat and cuddled with me on the bench side of our booth.   It meant the world to me and I could tell he was happy too, to have time alone with me.

Upon return to school he was very excited for his class's Valentine's Party.  He made homemade brownies last night (assisted by his Daddy) and iced/sprinkled them this morning with the assistance of his sister and I.  A quote from Matthew this morning who watched Megan ice her own brownies, went "Wow mommy, look Megan is as good as you at icing... she's awesome!"

I also put special notes in each of the kids lunches (I do this at least once or twice a week) and tried to make Megan's "Sharing Lunch" a little extra fun, with heart shaped fruit and veggies!   She didn't come for lunch with us because her class had lunch plans.

Tonight, my UBC class is cancelled so I plan to attend Sparks with Megan and look forward to time alone with Scott after the kids go to bed.   I hope my family knows how much I love them all the days of the year, but especially today, Valentine's Day!   I am blessed to have some many people to love!