From Babies to Adults

Hello Friends From the Land of Corn(again),

We officially started our family vacation Monday morning. We drove straight through arriving in Illinois at 3:30 Tuesday morning. Driving straight through is hard on the parents, but a shorter trip for the kids as they are sleeping half the time. When everyone was younger we would start around mid-afternoon, make a stop for dinner, then the kids would watch a movie and go to sleep.

My mother-in-law looks remarkably better since we were here three weeks ago. They re-admitted her to the hospital last week and drained the fluid off her lungs and that has helped. Her color looks better, she is talking better, she is moving around better, it really is amazing the difference. It has been a long recovery for her, but the Lord has been faithful.

Six years ago we made our first trip out west. We have been wanting to go back, so this is the year. Our oldest son will be 18 in December and we realize our summers of having all 4 kids available to take a vacation are quickly coming to an end.

At MOPS last week we had to introduce ourselves to someone as if it was 10 years ago and then again as if it was 10 years in the future. It was exciting for me to talk about the future. I imagine I will have a grandchild and children getting married(I'm looking forward to planning a wedding with my daughter) in 10 years.

As hard as it can be to think about having an empty nest and how fast our little ones become adults, it is necessary for us as moms to think of the future. What joy it will be to welcome new daughters or sons into our family through marriage, how interesting it will be to watch our sons start careers and our daughters decorate their own homes, what blessings we will experience as we hold our grandchildren for the first time(I told my kids I expect a minimum of 16 grandchild), and what fun it will be to be friends with our adult children.

One of our MOPS mentor moms said "I love having adult children". Eric and I have enjoyed every stage of our childrens' lives, so I imagine we will enjoy their adult years as well.

Ladies, as your children grow watch with wonder and invest yourself in each age. Enjoy every age for the uniqueness it offers, looking forward to the years ahead and all they will offer you.

Have a blessed day as you mother your little ones and love on your husband.

Melissa