Huggy Bug!!!

Like I said in the previous post, life has been insanely crazy.  But in the midst of the craziness, life goes on.  Wouldn't you agree that in general, time just passes way too quickly?  Isn't there a pause button?  Or a stop and smell the roses button?  Something?! 

 It seems like we just started the "FAMILY HUG!" tradition. But no, it's been almost 10 years!  Jason or I would call it out from wherever we were in the house (usually close to bedtime) and 2 little pairs of feet would come pitter pattering from opposite ends of the house and jump into a big family hug with kisses all around.  Abbey and Maddie were maybe 4 and 2.

(in case the all caps didn't make it abundantly clear, FAMILY HUG is something you drag out and say loudly and exuberantly.  Give it all the southern you've got!)

And in case that wasn't enough background on the whole FAMILY HUG tradition,  when Jason is traveling we have to say "FAMILY HUG WITHOUT DADDY" for those in our midst who feel the need to be exact.  We have also been known to say, "FAMILY HUG WITH MIA!" when Mia puppy is jumping up trying to be included. Sometimes there's a FAMILY HUG WITHOUT (insert sister's name who is otherwise occupied).

So, I've mentioned before that Anabelle talks NON-STOP.  Literally, from the time she wakes up, until the time her sweet little head hits the pillow, she does. not. stop. talking.   A lot of it you can't understand.  You can usually catch the gist of what she is trying to communicate from the words at the beginning and end of the sentence.

For example,  "Mommy, eh bee do da be na bo do rara bb KISSES, Nomi!" means "I just gave Nomi a kiss".  Or, "Abbey, ba do rabe no no doo ba SHOES, GO, GO, GO!" means, "Abbey, I want my shoes it's time to go, go, go!"

 You get the idea.  

Well, occasionally there is something that she says over and over with the same inflection in the same general situation, but NONE of us can figure out what in the world it means.  That's been the case the last few days.  She would say the same thing in the same way and then usually lean in and give me a big kiss.  (shoulda been my first clue but I'm going on 2 weeks of Jason traveling and my brain is NOT working on full power...)  So anyway, tonight it hit me- she's saying FAMILY HUG, but in Anabelle-eese it comes out...

HUGGY BUG!!  

How awesome is that?!  

Tonight I had one of those precious FAMILY HUGS, or HUGGY BUGS as they will now forever and always be known as.  Anyway, I was hugging all of my sweet girls before bed and passing out kisses all around, and I just looked around at their precious faces and wanted to hold on to them so tightly and just freeze time for just a tiny minute.  It just all goes so fast!

How is Abbey 13 and taller than me?! (yes, it's official, I've always claimed 5'7" without quite being there and she is fully there!).  And her wisdom, oh Jesus, thank you for the wisdom you have given her beyond her years.  She teaches me.  

And Maddie- what happened to my chubby roly poly fatty Maddie?  She's long gone and has been replaced by this graceful, petite beauty who amazes me with her grace and sensitivity.  

Miss Naomi I believe has far surpassed us all with her wit and intellect.  Look out world is all I can say for this one!  She prayed this week to be baptized soon so that "all my sin can be washed out and I will be clean".  Will be so fun to see what her life becomes in the hand of the Potter!  

And Anabelle.  My heart.  All of our hearts.  She has completed our family, and the love I see in those precious eyes for her sisters just does something to my insides!  

So, yes, life has been crazy, but it is thankfully still full of precious, daily, often mundane moments that I hope I will not forget in the years to come.

It is not lost on this Momma that the years are going by way too quickly and I simply can't get them back.  

Here's the latest glimpse at some of the ordinary daily events, that make for extraordinary memories.

Maddie in the kitchen with Naomi as her sidekick is a regular (and pretty delicious!) occurrence.

Hard at work...

Look at their amazing "sleepover cupcakes"!

So Anabelle hardly eats at all (she's too busy talking!).  Thankfully, she's finally increasing her percentage on the growth chart a bit but she is definitely our most petite baby.  But don't get in between the girl and her hummus and falafel!

You can't tell in this picture, but my girl is taller than me! (and between her  first youth retreat, drama practice, baskeball practice, and Model UN I haven't gotten any pictures of her around the house so this will have to do)

Be still my heart.  I love this picture.  My favorite early morning site!

Anabelle now wants to eat her breakfast in the "other chair" which means basically that she doesn't want to sit in her high chair but would rather have her freedom on the bench thank you very much.  She sits beside Jason just about every morning and talks his ear off while he gets started on email.  Often she'll ask to color as she sees him writing in his notebook.  About every 2-3 minutes, she'll stop what she's doing and stand up and say "daddy, HUG!" and lean in and give him a hug.  Precious.  Who could ask for a better breakfast buddy?!  

So there's a glimpse into our ordinary days.

What about you, do you have enough HUGGY BUGS in your lives lately and if you do, do you take them for granted or do you relish how absolutely precious they are?!

"He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.  That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil- this is the gift of God.  I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.  God does it so that men will revere him"

Ecclesiastes 3:11-14