Stages

I've been thinking lately about how fast it goes.  How it seems like just yesterday our days were spent mostly at home, looking for ways to get out.  Now we are gone so much, we yearn to spend Saturdays doing nothing but being home.

The days of play dates, trips to the fountain park, wagon rides, errands that had to be squeezed in between nap time, feeding the goats at the cheese place, leisurely strolls around the Target, baking for fun, crafting to fill time, Tuesday morning Women's Bible Study, and overused, tattered princess dress-up clothes are long gone...though they certainly don't feel all that far away.

Now our lives are full of Student Council meetings, basketball practice and games, band and choir concerts, piano recitals, dance rehearsal, book reports, California mission projects, sleepovers, and church youth group meetings (strangely, though, not for Dave anymore--  now the girls!).

I am not necessarily complaining.  Sometimes I miss those good old days, but each new stage brings new adventures.  I am so proud of Ella for running for Student Council, nailing her speech, and being elected rep of her 6th grade class.  I'm delighted that Delia is so excited about what she's reading that she reads her book report books aloud to me as I wash dishes.  I think Ella will learn so much about teamwork and hard physical activity in her brand new experience on the girls' basketball team.  I love that Delia gets to be a part of a special youth group our church runs for girls in 4th-8th grade and I get to be her teacher!

When I do start to feel sad about how fast it goes, I will just find solace in reading all those old blog posts, where I obsessively recorded every single detail.  And I will thank God that I was blessed with that opportunity to stay home with my girls for a couple years, soaking in their early childhoods.

(Here are a few pictures and videos I've been collecting these past few months.  None of Ella in her school basketball uniform or Student Council shirt with her last name on it, though, I try to protect that info a little bit on the blog.)

 Ella making cookies for a Student Council sponsored bake sale.

 Delia's completed Pumpkin Biography project.  Can you guess whose biography she read? ;)

Ella singing in a choir concert.  Dave and I actually missed this because we were at the Cubs game, so the picture is from a friend.

Celebrating report cards full of straight A's at Krispy Kreme, where you get 1 free donut for each A.

A video of Ella playing "The Entertainer", one of her favorite songs this season, at her piano recital. She actually performed 4 songs-- one of them a duet with Delia singing!