Sweet Things

• The way Ella calls dried apricots “apple-cots”.
• The smile on Aleck’s face as he slides across the gymnasium floor on his knees while wearing his Karate Gi.
• The way Aleck hugs his “baby sister, Ella” goodbye when we drop him off at preschool.
• The way Aleck exclaims, “Yeah!” when I tell him it’s Saturday and he gets to stay home and play with Daddy today.
• The way Aleck loves his daddy.  Tom was sick this week.  Ella and I were going to work in the garden at Joni’s house.  Aleck LOVES Joni, but he initially said he was going to stay home because “I’m worried about Daddy and I want to stay home with him.”
• The fact that the kids slept late this morning.
• The fact that when I woke up, Tom had already been to Starbucks and Busy B’s for cinnamon rolls.  Yummy!
• Grilling in the evening while the kids played in the back yard.
• Rocking a very tired  Ella to sleep tonight.  It has probably been more than six months since she has settled down and fallen asleep in my arms.  I cherish each time she does, knowing that it could very well be the last time that she lets me rock her to sleep.  I want to etch in my brain the shape of her rosebud lips, the way her hair smells, the way she snuggles into my side.
• Life!