It's amazing to see how our three older children react to him. Laine (10) is our little mama, barely wanting to put him down and offering to feed him, change him or hold him - any time he makes even the slightest noise. Riley(4) can't get over the fact that Alex is finally here and says frequently that he's glad Alex is out of my tummy (that makes two of us, baby!!). Taylor (15 months) has finally decided he likes his baby brother and often gives him hugs and kisses. Daddy and Mama are mesmerized and are amazed at this new ingredient to our family's recipe.
I was hoping that, this being our last baby, somehow time would go by very slowly, but I'm finding that it goes by even quicker with how busy life is being the mama of four little people. Tomorrow, Alex will be five weeks old. Surely we just had him yesterday? But then we blinked and somehow time fast forwarded five weeks.
Why is it that when we're young, we're eager for time to pass by quickly so that we can get our driver's license, date, graduate from high school, leave home, etc. But, when we get married and have children, we want time to slow down so that we can relish every minute with them...however, that is when time passes the quickest.
Wouldn't it be nice, if like peach preserves, we could place our memories in a jar, seal it tight and put them on a shelf to keep? The laughter of our children, kissing our sweetheart underneath a sky full of fireworks on the Fourth of July, first day of school, graduation, hugs, kisses, birthdays, etc.
Since that isn't quite possible, other than tucking them away for safe keeping in our minds, in our photo albums, in our DVD collections, we must make sure to relish every single minute. Leave that bed unmade and snuggle up the babies in it instead. Let your daughter braid your hair instead of being too worried about every strand of hair being perfectly in place. Don't cringe when your son gives you a slobbery or peanut butter and jelly kiss. Enjoy the times your newborn wakes you up all hours of the night and stare at the beautiful creation you've been given. Take interest in something your sweetheart likes - just to spend time together.
Enjoy every minute because these moments are what makes up your jar of preserves. These are the ingredients that you will take with you when you leave this world behind. I'd much rather be remembered for the great preserves (memories) made, rather than the amount in my bank account or how large of a house I lived in or how my hair looked.
Life is so precious. Stop long enough to enjoy making jars and jars and jars of preserves.
-------------------------
Enjoy the recipe for Peach Preserves from Allrecipes.com below.
Peach Preserves
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peach-preserves/
Ingredients Edit and Save
