Ahhhhh........Spring Break.

i love spring break. i loved it then. i love it now.

this week, we took it easy. relaxed. shot the breeze. kicked our shoes off.

a lot of times, one thinks that one should go on vacation or have some big special activity planned for weeks like this. well...there is something to be said for having absolutely no plans. that was us this week. at the start of the week...no plans. on friday, after colton got out of school we took them to blockbuster and let them each pick out 2 movies for the week. colton picked the bee movie, and cars. chase picked buzz lightyear (some spin off from toy story) and didn't want to pick a second one. aiden picked cinderella 2 and strawberry shortcake. but other than that...nothing.

we ended up having a really good week. every friday night, we let the kids have a sibling sleepover. this is where they get to get their sleeping bags out and watch a movie and sleep in the same room. every night, aiden asks, "can i sleep with my boys?" and every night, i tell her, "you have to wait until friday night. on friday night, you can sleep with your boys." i love that she calls her brothers "her boys". so...they were pretty excited that every night could be a sibling sleepover, and they loved waking up every morning on their own. they would play upstairs in the playroom together for hours if i let them. we would eat breakfast around 10 and that meant that i did not have to make breakfast and lunch. i love whoever invented brunch. it had to be a mom who didn't enjoy cooking. the first couple of days we just hung out around the house and enjoyed not having to be anywhere.

wednesday, the kids got to spend the night with my parents and that is always a big deal for them. chad and i got to go to church that night and then go eat afterwards and watch a movie that we had rented.

thursday, chase got a haircut and then we met friends at the park for a picnic and egg hunt. we came home just in time to catch the start of march madness. we love march madness in our house. well...i'm not sure aiden and chase love it. but, the rest of us do. and they play along.

friday, we took them to NASA and they got to see the rockets that are displayed on the grounds. that was really fun for the boys, especially. chase loves anything "apollo 13". even though it is called a saturn v rocket, chase calls it an apollo 13. i think that he finally understood, yesterday, that it was a saturn v and that there were a lot of apollo missions. then, we picked up lunch and brought it home. then, aiden and i went to target and the fabric store to get ribbon to make a bow for her hair to match her easter dress. that afternoon, i took colton and aiden to see horton hears a who. chase didn't want to go, so he stayed home and enjoyed the afternoon with daddy. last night, we ate dinner outside and then they all slept in the boys room.

this morning, chad went to feed the homeless in galveston with some people from our church and the kids and i boiled a dozen eggs to dye here in a little while. they just brought down all their blankets and anywhere chairs. aiden just informed me that they are going to build a "fork". tonight, i have to work at the saturday night easter service.

tomorrow, we will go to church and then head to my parent's house for lunch.

it's been a good week. i love having all my kids home with me. i had a realization this week too. colton is 7 years old...which seems really young. but, these 7 years have passed by so fast. in another 7 years, he will be 14. i can't believe that. our time with them goes by so fast. to think of the time that he leaves for college makes me want to cry my eyes out. it makes me appreciate each day with them more...and realize that it doesn't have to be spring break to make each day special. just waking up with them makes it special. and each moment is a gift from God...to be enjoyed...to be cherished. each snuggle...each game...each story...each bedtime...all little gifts of time. there will be a time when they won't let me snuggle them...or want me to tuck them in. they will tell me to leave them alone. they won't ask for me to come play with them...or come lay by them...or come read to them. so, when they climb in my lap these days...for some comfort after they didn't get their way, or they got their feelings hurt by their sibling, or they are trying to buy time because they don't want to go to bed yet...i will remember that there will be a time when they will no longer fit in my lap. and i'll whisper to them how much i love them while i kiss their heads. and then i'll say, "let me hold you a little longer."