A Special Date, Then and Now

When I was 9 months pregnant with Paige I took Reed on a last special "date" to Los Rios at Oak Glen. They have a nature trail perfect for kids. I love being outside and used to spend a lot of time hiking pre-babies. I decided to start the tradition with Reed and it was just one of those perfect days where the sun is shining, the air smells amazing and all is well with the world.

Lately I've been having a really hard time with Reed. Call it the terrible two's or just the fact that he is amazingly stubborn like me! My days are filled with tantrums and tears and my nights are filled with his nightmeres and fears. My patience has been pushed to the limit and beyond. I knew we needed some quality one on one time and what better place then re-creating our perfect date?

This was our date a year ago and a half ago, arriving in a stroller..


This time we didn't even get the stroller out of the car!


One of my all time favorite pics. My hair's a mess (probably didn't wash it) and I have no makeup on but all that matters is the memory of one of my favorite days!


Same comments as above, a year and a half later!

Last time we went it was July, this time it was December so there was snow!

It's amazing how much joy something as small as snow can bring to a child! I wish life were still so simple for me but watching him has got to be almost as good!

Playing with the snow

Trying to make a snow ball

After throwing a snow ball at me

July 2009

He used to be quite the wanderer...

Now this is about as far as he gets.

The bridge to a little dock

Same bridge, much bigger boy!

Another old favorite pic on the dock

A new favorite!

One of the cutest pictures ever!

Glad the simple pleasure of watching ducks hasn't left him yet!

My little goofball

Growing up so fast!

Parenthood is so much more challenging then I ever could have imagined. It's like a marriage where there's a honeymoon period that inevitably comes to an end. Gone is the frail little newborn who I thought would never be one of "those children" that disobey or do one naughty thing. But just like a marriage, the years that follow the "honeymoon period" are even richer and deeper in spite of the challenges and in many ways, because of them. Reed challenges me but he also makes me a better person as I learn and grow right along side him. Even in these difficult seasons of life I am so greatful for my children and blessed by them every day. Sometimes I just have to take a time out of the daily routine, one on one, to show them the simple joys of childhood and how very much they are loved!