After being away...

Hello and welcome :)

Recently we have gone back to church...

After being away...[away from church not God] for a very long time...

And it feels like coming home to be honest...

On Sunday morning I asked Bianca-Leigh my 18 year old to go watch over my 7 year old at 'kids church'

Bradley was tearful at having to go... and I understand him...newness has always pulled this out of  him...

He needs time, love and tenderness to settle...

So she understand him and she understands me too...she knows that i am not really used to feeling torn where my children are concerned...I mean 'it' has come up...that one time...lol...no more than once but not usually...so an unselfish daughter stood in for me...wouldn't be the first time either nor the last...i am sure :)
Bianca-Leigh has always been a second mom to Bradley.

And the men in my life and i walked together through the church doors...

found a spot and relaxed into the worship...feeling happy and contented...

As we sat and listened and stood and sang...I was momentarily aware of the 'short me' standing between these two tall ones...

these two... who are so different from each other but somehow still the same... not cut from the same cloth...no...but still a type of strong durable fabric...well with them on either side i felt small and feminine...
protected...and cherished...and strong and vital and locked in and ... alive. 

And when we sat down comfortable in our seats...and my elbows touched both of theirs...

these men next to me...one young and one not that young anymore...my bodyguards...i smile as i write this line...for it is not really so [and of course at the same time it is really so too...]... i felt grateful ...

Sitting in God's house elbow to elbow...with these people i care SO deeply for...my people...my tribe...

And my heart rejoiced and i gave thanks...
thanks for a husband SUCH. AS. THIS.
thanks for children who listen to me...

and go where i go...


And
 I KNOW...
God will do the rest...

  

7 such a delightful age...

Hi ... 

This song by Mindy Gledhill pulls at my heartstrings...

My littlest son...

The one who...

 finds a chip looking like a number 1 and excitedly tells me i am his first love...

who loves wearing a 'beanie' ...

or a cap... no matter...

but something you will find on his head...

I can see his own personal style starting to come through.

 and i feel excited by this... for they must each be who they really are...

I am biased but i think his style is kinda cool...

He is active and full of fun and bit of a daredevil at times...

After outings he will tell me over and over just how much he enjoyed our day...

this one...

he talks...

 a lot... 

As he gets older he appreciates doing new things more and more...

i guess he is growing in more ways than one...

He can be grumpy at times but is always quick to say sorry...

He has a lighthearted streak...

here he is trying to foil my attempts at getting my shot...

he can be a little naughty... but is mostly nice...

Sometimes i get the feeling... 

I'll need to keep my eye on this one more so than with the other two...

Post Script

So this happened last night...

He came to me wrapped quite unsuccessfully in a towel...

his skin warm and still damp from his bath...

He was telling me something too important to wait until after he was dressed...

he leaned on my mother's day gift...the one from him...the one made at school...

When he turned to leave...he laughed and came straight back to my side...

in his hand was a scrap of paper... untidy red lines with bits of white shining through...one of the hearts he'd hurriedly drawn and coloured in to add to my gift...to tell me in his childlike way of his love for me...

This heart that must have stuck to his arm more than once as he leaned in...

 and shared his... little boy... growing big... self... with me...

"I keep stealing your heart..." he said... a smile in his voice...

I could tell he found the paper sticking to his arm...funny...

so like a 7 year old to be tickled by such a thing as this...i smiled back at him...

But at his half apology... 

half explanation...

 came this thought straight from my mothers heart...

'Darling little boy of mine...it happens more often than you know...'