Spring Break!

Spring Break starts tonight! We have the next week off of school and the kids are all excited (and so is Mommy!). We started it off right, at least in my opinion, by going to church for the Stations of Cross. I always look forward to this during Lent and was really looking forward to it because Dax has recently started asking about the cross and Jesus. I thought it would be really good for him to see what it was all about and get his questions answered. I was very proud of all four of the older kids. They listened intently, sang along, kneeled when they were supposed to, and after the service, they asked if they could go look at all of the stations more closely. I stood back and watched as the four of them, led by Drew, went to each station and discussed it. They ended their mini-tour of the church in the chapel and Drew showed them the tabernacle where Jesus' body is stored. I walked in as they each knelt at a kneeler and said a prayer. It was a wonderful moment that brought tears to my eyes and I thought, maybe I'm not doing such a horrible job, maybe all of my hard work will pay off, maybe they are all getting and going to turn out alright. I really should know by now that these moments are always cut short by a quick jolt of reality, but somehow I still like to live in my ignorant bliss of motherhood. I quietly told the kids it was time to leave and they all stood up and began to walk out . Suddenly, Dax stopped, ran back to the tabernacle, leaned forward and quietly whispered "I love you Jesus" (wait for it, wait for it), started to walk out, and then quickly turned around and said, very sternly, "But you're gonna die!" That's my very literal 4 year old! This is the same kid who two weeks ago was explaining how much he loved this "popcorn shaped like chicken". I didn't say a word because Drew was quick to defend the KFC popcorn chicken we had just gotten. He calmly explained that it was chicken shaped like popcorn and if it was the other way around it would be called "chicken popcorn". Dax didn't buy it. He says it has always been his favorite kind of popcorn! Come to think of it, he has been quite entertaining lately. This morning, he woke up very early, stumbled into my bathroom where I was getting ready for the day, and tiredly said, "Mommy, do you know why I am up so early?" "I rolled over and there was baby slobber on my pillow!" I asked the obvious, "Dax, did you drool on your pillow while you were sleeping?" Well, let me just say, he was very offended by this suggestion and decided it must have been Drake, since he is obviously the baby who has slobber!
As I marvel at the way my four year old's mind works, I am reminded of how quickly these times pass when Drake decided to (finally) stand up and take off across the living room this week. I admit that he really is behind with the whole walking thing, but I also admit that I was kind of glad to keep him my baby as long as I could! I guess I still struggle with that balance of keeping them young, but allowing them to grow!