Our last weekend with "Just the Big Kids"

It hit me last week that this was going to be our last weekend with just big kids. Tuesday, our world will change. It will be new. It will be different. It will be good. Everything will be okay, I just have to realize that it's our new normal.

I really wanted to spend some time doing fun stuff with the kids Saturday to celebrate just how big they've become. They are able to do so many things and I have really been enjoying the stages that they are at right now. They've gone from 'little-kids-that-I-have-to-take-everywhere-with-me' to 'big-kids-who-come-places-with-us'. They require so much less hands-on maintenance now, but much more conversation and social interaction. More than ever, their personalities are coming out in the way they act and play and talk to others on a daily basis. They really are neat little kids!

We woke up late yesterday morning, so we went for late breakfast/lunch at IHOP. We chowed down on some pancakes and eggs, then decided to go putt-putting. We took them last summer, and they remembered it when we pulled up. We had so much fun as a family! They still had a few pretty terrible shots, but several of their turns were actually really good!!! It was amazing the amount of control and concentration they've gained in less than a year! I didn't take a ton of pics, but here are a few...

I absolutely love the times that I just focus on enjoying and loving my kids! They are such special gifts from God! Saturday night a friend watched Lawson and Jordan so Jon and I could go out on a date. We stopped in a book store for a while and as I was flipping through a book I found this quote that I love:

The Psalms call children a "reward." Not a curse, not a tragedy, not an accident--they are the expressions of God's favor. It is a thrilling right to see your children through the lens of Scriptures as His trophies.
--Howard Hendricks

I think this is so true! Some days I can get so caught up in frustration, exhaustion and focus on some of the negative things in my life, but when I can keep myself focused on the abundance of blessing that has been poured into my life it changes how I see everything! My kids definitely are a blessing in my life--if they are indeed expressions of God's favor, then I am humbled at how much favor he saw fit to give me!

We are now only a day away from our "Baby Day" and we are all SO excited to meet our sweet new baby...but I am grateful for this time we spent together as a family-of-four this weekend!