what I want to remember.

Last week I posed the question, “What do you want to remember about this time next year or in 20 years?” So this week, I decided to take the time to think about that and then consciously looked for those little moments and memories. I am sure I did not notice everything but here are a few nuggets I am treasuring:

One of the sweetest things that M&M do is share an imaginary kitten. This kitten does not have a name and they do not take care of it all the time. But occasionally I will see Molly “holding” it softly in her cupped hands and Maggie will pet it and “ohhh, and ahhh” over it. They also give it rides in their tricycle’s basket.

However, a kitten is not the only imaginary friend they have. The other day, Molly handed me an invincible balloon and if it is raining, they will hold imaginary umbrellas (bc you know, when it’s raining, we rarely have a real one!). I’m sure this is an ordinary occurrence for most three year olds, but my other girls did not do this and I just love that they share this imagination. I did not share my imaginary friend with my sister!!

The getting to bed; the baths, the brushing of teeth, and the making sure M&M go potty is not my favorite part of the day. But the “right-after” is. When I lay down beside my girls and read them stories, I might live my whole day for that. I hope they always want me to read to them.

M&M go to bed first. I read about 2-3 picture books…some more than once. One thing that makes me smile is that they will pick out characters in the story they want to be and I must replace that character’s name with theirs. And if I forget to, they are quick to correct me, “No, that’s Maggie!” After I convince them we have read enough stories, I play some JJ Heller music to indicate it’s time to close those pretty blue eyes. They curl up and ask me to hold their little hands while they drift off to dreamland. Once again, I might just live for these little moments.

The older “L’s” get in bed right afterwards. Leah is already asleep or falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. But Lilly and Lucy stay up and listen to me read a chapter or two of a book. Lucy asks a lot of questions to get everything straight in her brain, Lilly usually gets annoyed with this. Lucy also wants me to stop sooner than Lilly because she is tired and does not want to miss any part of the story if she should fall asleep. And once again, Lilly is frustrated with that. But we are working of compromise, patience, and respect. Not sure any of that is kicking in, but some day it will.

One day while in Target, the girls decided they all wanted new notebooks. I like notebooks. I’m trying to foster writing and creative endeavors. What I do not like are half full notebooks lying around the house. So, everyday I remind them to write or draw in their notebooks.

Lilly will usually write 3-4 sentences about the events of the day and draw a small picture.

Lucy writes as if she is someone else living the best life. For instance, “My name is JoJo and I live in Florida. I can go to the beach a lot. I have a little brother and he is so cute.” She draws a scene with all the details.

And Leah draws a picture of her with her favorite people or toy and labels it. I love how little kids draw. They put to paper what they see and are super proud of it.

This spring, the neighbor girl discovered that there is a house full of girls and toys right beside her. Everyone’s life has been changed. Each day they look forward to her coming over and if we are at the farm, they hope there is time to play in the yard with her before bedtime. I am envisioning a Kimmy Gibbler (from Full House) situation. She shows up and is basically part of the family while she is here. And if this continues, someone might confuse her as a sister.

Not all of these treasures have been captured in camera…yet. I have to remind myself that not all memories have to be in a photograph; they can be written, painted, a video or simply engraved on our hearts.

Her giggle always makes my day better. She is Jolly Molly. If you ask her what her name is, she will most likely add a “jolly” at the end.

In the mornings, my kids will find me outside working out. If they wake up before I am up, they will automatically go to the front door and look on the porch. I love how they come to me, in their jammies. messy hair, and teddy bears.