Why I Love This Pic
A picture is worth a thousand words, so here goes...
This isn't the most spectacular picture in the world, but I can't stop looking at it and smiling. This was taken two days ago, at Turkey Run Inn. We'd just finished packing all our things on the moving truck, closing on our house in Illinois, playing with neighbors and friends one last time, taking one last turn on the tire swings, and waving goodbye to our life in Lincoln. We'd become frayed around the edges once or twice, but the kids were golden. They rolled with the punches, took it all in, and were absolute troopers. On the way home, my in-laws had a surprise for them: a night at Turkey Run State Park. It was so much fun to surprise them! Henry began bemoaning the hours ahead of us part way into the return trip to Indiana. I smiled and said, "What if we break up the trip? Maybe stop and swim or something?" "Really!? Oh, but, Mom, we didn't bring our bathing suits!" "Hmm, did you check the suitcase?" We had a nice supper together, the kids played in the arcade, and then we split them between the two hotel rooms to get some much-needed rest. The next morning we had a breakfast buffet ("You mean we can eat anything we want!?), and the boys left the restaurant arm in arm singing, "Huggy, huggy, huggy" in a sing-songey cha-cha tune. Everyone we passed smiled. And then this. I told them to stand by the wall and put their arms around each other. Instead they threw their arms around one another and beamed. That's what I love about this picture, I think. It's the three of them, inseparable. Which is exactly how they are these days.
They've been so excited to share a room in our new house that they've been taking turns sleeping on the floor all in one room at my parents' house. They can't wait to show each other what they've done during the day, to teach each other something new, to play together. They plan out what they're going to say and when they're going to say it, just so they can shout, "Jinx! Knock on wood! Owe me a soda!" and tap whatever's in front of them and pretend to slurp cokes. When I think back on this stage, it will undoubtedly be with the soundtrack of knocking playing in the background. We hoped and prayed for kids who would be close, who would be unable to imagine life without each other. And when I look at this picture, I see the answer to those prayers.
The swimming really was fun, even if it was cold. Cora loved being a mermaid and the boys practiced swimming out to Micah. But this picture, to me, sums up this whole stage with these three sweet children. I just can't get enough.
This isn't the most spectacular picture in the world, but I can't stop looking at it and smiling. This was taken two days ago, at Turkey Run Inn. We'd just finished packing all our things on the moving truck, closing on our house in Illinois, playing with neighbors and friends one last time, taking one last turn on the tire swings, and waving goodbye to our life in Lincoln. We'd become frayed around the edges once or twice, but the kids were golden. They rolled with the punches, took it all in, and were absolute troopers. On the way home, my in-laws had a surprise for them: a night at Turkey Run State Park. It was so much fun to surprise them! Henry began bemoaning the hours ahead of us part way into the return trip to Indiana. I smiled and said, "What if we break up the trip? Maybe stop and swim or something?" "Really!? Oh, but, Mom, we didn't bring our bathing suits!" "Hmm, did you check the suitcase?" We had a nice supper together, the kids played in the arcade, and then we split them between the two hotel rooms to get some much-needed rest. The next morning we had a breakfast buffet ("You mean we can eat anything we want!?), and the boys left the restaurant arm in arm singing, "Huggy, huggy, huggy" in a sing-songey cha-cha tune. Everyone we passed smiled. And then this. I told them to stand by the wall and put their arms around each other. Instead they threw their arms around one another and beamed. That's what I love about this picture, I think. It's the three of them, inseparable. Which is exactly how they are these days.
They've been so excited to share a room in our new house that they've been taking turns sleeping on the floor all in one room at my parents' house. They can't wait to show each other what they've done during the day, to teach each other something new, to play together. They plan out what they're going to say and when they're going to say it, just so they can shout, "Jinx! Knock on wood! Owe me a soda!" and tap whatever's in front of them and pretend to slurp cokes. When I think back on this stage, it will undoubtedly be with the soundtrack of knocking playing in the background. We hoped and prayed for kids who would be close, who would be unable to imagine life without each other. And when I look at this picture, I see the answer to those prayers.
The swimming really was fun, even if it was cold. Cora loved being a mermaid and the boys practiced swimming out to Micah. But this picture, to me, sums up this whole stage with these three sweet children. I just can't get enough.
