Still Little

 Things like this picture remind me that my older kids are still kids, and they still retain a child-like innocence that is just mind-blowing to me.  I have a tendency, I think, to view my older kids as so grown up.  Our conversations captivate me, their sensitivity calms me, and their sense of responsibility with their siblings massively helps me.  Perhaps my expectations are much too high for these mini adults who are still children-a time frame that passes by like a stain of breath on a mirror (yes, I am borrowing a phrase from Jekyll and Hyde).  I have to remind myself all the time to appreciate these moments before they pass me by.  This is one such moment-JD has pets.  They are stuffed animals, of course, but he calls them his pets, just like Jordan does.  They don't ever leave his bed, but he sleeps with them every night.  On this particular evening, he hung them upside down from the underside of the bunk bed.  He told me the next morning they were doing pull ups by their ankles.

 Thanks for staying little a tad bit longer, JD.  Love this boy!