Great Expectations...

I often wonder what life will be like when I get my children grown. I really can't begin to imagine. Life has flown by, it has a way of doing that. While I was not even looking my children have grown up. Chelsea is 22 years old. I was married, a mother, and thinking I was "all grown up" at that age. Just yesterday. It was just yesterday. Now, in a blink of an eye she is ready to be a wife herself.

Sarah was my quickest to get here baby. 20 years ago she arrived less than 25 minutes after I walked into the hospital thinking I was in false labor. My only natural birth, by necessity more than planning. Sarah was such an easy baby. So sweet, all blond headed and huge blue eyes. I never expected to have a Blondie and certainly not one with blue eyes.

Caleb is in Germany. Today I was telling about his imaginary Grandpa. That Grandpa was so much part of his pre-school years. So many funny stories. My first born son, my first left-hander, my first football player, and my first soldier. It was just yesterday!

Jacob was my "last" baby. I intended to enjoy the baby in him...and he walked at 5 months, climbed out of his baby bed at 7 months and was into everything he could touch. A smart cookie, although always sweet and obedient.

My family came at all ages, a newborn(Seth), 5 months(Rosie), 1 year(Ryan), 2 years(Lita), 3 years(Tasha and Victoria), 4 years(Mercedez and Daniel), 5 years(Michael and Isabella), 6 years(Samuel), 7 years(John and Zackery), 8 years(Carlton), 9 years(Joseph), 14 years(Stuart), and 16 years(Doug). I remember each day....each "first". I remember those moments; the joy, hope and dreams I immediately had for each and every child was exactly the same....

Sweet faces, sweet laughs, sweet times....they pass so quickly. I laughed today at Sarah who said, "Teenagers are horrible". She has no idea she was my first tough teenager, the one who tested me first and was such a struggle for me. She (like most my hard-headed kids) lived though those years and emerged a wonderful young woman.

I imagine the hard-headed kids I am persevering through now will have the same lovely results. lol..well, that is my expectation, my hope, my wish...and my endless prayer!

Time flies. No surprise. I just hope as mine continues to fly that I never loose sight of the joy in each day, that I always stop and see the sunshine, see God's hand in my wonderful life. Someday I want to look back and see my children all grown, see them all successful. That's a HUGE dream, but one that I will always desire. For some it seems harder to attain that for others, but God can do anything He wishes and my prayer is always that He work in my children's lives and they spent their lives in His service:)