Candice... remember this!

This morning Allie woke up the same time, as usual. Chelsie did not have school and Cooper was still asleep. I wasn't ready to get out of bed yet so Allie crawled in with me. "Mom, let's talk about things!" she said excitedly to me. So we pulled the sheet over our heads and talked in our little "tent". It brought to mind the article I read yesterday by Elder Ballard from the April 2008 Conference, titled "Daughters of God". He quoted author Anna Quindlen, "There is one picture of my three childrend sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day... And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed..."

As we lay in bed this morning, I don't remember all that we talked about- even though it was only 3 hours ago. I do know I just wanted to freeze this moment and keep it forever. I was stroking her hair as she talked, noticing how blonde it has become in the summer sun. Her dark eyelashes are a stark contrast to her blonde hair. Her eyes disappear, as Crockett eyes do, when she smiles. She has about six freckles on her nose and I hoped she didn't end up speckled- like me! Her eyes aren't blue, they have green and gold in them too. She has these tiny dimples at the corners of her mouth. Her face is so expressive when she talks. I was thinking that soon, much too soon, her face is going to thin out and she won't look like a "little girl" anymore. I want to remember her, the sound of her voice as best I can because I know it will pass all too soon. She talks incessantly... sometimes it drives me crazy. I choose not to say anything to her because I want her to feel like she can talk to me... always.

In Elder Ballard's talk he said, "If a child lives with parents for 18 or 19 years, that span is only one-fourth of a parent's life. And the most formative time of all, the early years in a child's life, represents less than one-tenth of a parent's normal life. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them..."

Why am I so anxious to get on to the next task? Why do I get so caught up with the little things? It is so easy to get distracted by the everyday things necessary to function. This morning was so wonderful... Candice- remember this!