Spring

...couldn't come soon enough.

Personally, I've never been a big fan of Spring/Summer. I'm more of the Fall/pumpkin/campfire kind of girl. However, Spring can not get here fast enough for Team Richter.

1) For the first time, we have a yard and two busy boys dying to get in it. We have fabulous neighbors and kids lining the streets.

2) RSV and flu season will be OVER. This means, NO MORE ISOLATION. (We use isolation loosely with a 2 & 3 year old. We have to be realistic. We still play with friends - of course hounding them hours before we arrive to assure everyone is still well). We can't just pop over to Monkey Joes to burn some energy. We haven't been to The Art Room's Date Night (which I'm dying for the boys to do!) - only because outside of a 'controlled' environment, it just puts too much risk on our family. After this season, maybe we'll do a gym class or a music class or maybe we'll just go to the park and hold hands with other snotty kids. The bottom line is - we can.

3) I will no longer be 'The Entertainer'. Mud, dirt, sand, grass, balls, birds, hoops, nets, swings, slides... the list goes on... will temporarily take my spot and the boys can just be free to explore and discover and get dirty.

This weekend was just a taste of what is to come this Spring. The fresh air and warm weather will open a number of doors for families like ours. We can be social and our boys can rightfully explore. We can be outside and not going stir crazy. (I'm about to burn out Pintrest looking for things to entertain my boys).

okay - this needs some explaining. See this 'guy' (as my boys call him). This was my husband's 'guy'  when he was a little boy. Isn't he creepy? The long, nappy ponytail. What kind of action figure is this guy? I guess it doesn't matter, because like my husband, they LOVE him.

On the hunt for our Easter tree

With warm weather comes Easter! While unpacking our one box labeled 'Easter', I found a note inside from my husband. It reads, "Candace, I bet you $100 that you forget about this box that you made me promise to keep and now move."

Ha. Ha. Very funny, Michael Richter.

Now, what am I going to spend with my $100. Maybe I'll buy a bigger Easter box. ;)

Unpacking our Easter box. This is Michael's basket when he was their age. 

Hunting the perfect branch for our Easter tree.

"This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad." Psalm 118:24

Look what else we found in 'the box'

The NaShaw Easter tree

complete with Easter stickers I stick all over my face

So, on one particular day this week, I was in tears 2 or 3 times that day. The boys were whiney. I'm not 100%. We were locked inside. I literally ran out of things to do with the boys. The paint spilled. The books flew. The diaper exploded. Timeouts were endless. The pee pee didn't make the toilet. The toast was too brown. The eggs were too runny. Listening was obsolete. I felt like I couldn't get anything right - mostly, I just was feeling like a failure. It was just one of those days I wanted to 'turn in my resignation' and get a day job.

Exhausted, I was putting Shaw to bed and as always, I began our prayers. I always say prayers for Shaw and he finishes with 'Amen.' As usual, I started with, 'Now I lay me...' and took a breath with an exaggerated effort to speak slowly.

And Shaw continued, "down to sleep. I pray..." and he finished the prayer.

I didn't even know he knew it!

I closed my eyes as he finished and held him really tight and thought to myself through MORE tears... this is why I do it. This makes all the chaos and exhaustion worth it. Just this one moment. That's enough. That is all it takes. And tomorrow will be a new day.

And it was. :)