Every year since my kiddos were really little, we have had the tradition of cutting out and decorating sugar cookies. It began as a tradition my sister and I would do together at her house when her kids were still young, and my sister patiently endured the complete and utter mess all the lil-uns would make in the process. Seriously, sprinkles, little decorator balls, and the like could be found weeks later on the floor, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Yeah, that was fun. The point was, the kids loved it so much, and even though their cookies looked more like horror movie characters rather than angels and gingerbread men, it was the making and enjoying traditions that mattered most.
Today, we still do this every year, and the kids get SO excited to this day when they see me place an enormous ball of cookie dough on the table. These days, they can roll out their own dough, cut the shapes, and frost and decorate the cookies with precision care. It is so cute to see their creations, and to see their creativity. For instance, Austin made a "special" hybrid gingerbread man with one missing limb. Uh-huh. Whatever.
Every time we do this, I am reminded that another year has gone by, and I honestly don't know where the time has gone. I say this a lot, but I am at a loss as to where the last, say, 8 years have gone. I have vivid memories of having three toddlers/babies all at once, but once we started school, it all seems to be a blur. Every new school year came and went, and before you know it, your kids are big. Taller than you. Going to drive soon. Waaaaaaaaa!!!!!! I miss my babies! OK, well I don't miss the logistics of having babies, I just miss that they are small and cute. However, I can say with complete honesty that I am enjoying every minute of having older kids even more. To watch them accomplish things on their own, develop talents and abilities, understand spiritual truth and reckon that in their own hearts.....I am so thankful.
Days are still hard in so many ways, as we are in the trenches of homeschooling and everything else that goes with that. Some days I want to throw in the towel and be done. But Dave always reminds me why we do it. To invest in our kids lives and enjoy every moment. It's hard to remember to enjoy every moment when it's so difficult day by day. But sitting on the sidelines and quietly observing my kids decorate sugar cookies somehow brought me to that place...(See you knew I would get back to the cookies somehow).
God has given me so much to be responsible for, yet so much to be overwhelmingly thankful for. God has sent His son into the world to be my Savior! Christmas couldn't be any sweeter than this.
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