Where do the little boys go?

Boys on lakes and guys on bikes.... The house was nestled in the tall pines and I was taken aback at how very at home I felt there. The breeze brisk but the children's smiles were enough to warm the coldest of days.

The water held them for most of the afternoon. The boat slowly going from edge to edge and me watching from the porch. I wonder where the times goes.

 I wonder where the little boys go when they're turning into these incredible little guys that I love to watch. Toothless and loving...This age is magical and overwhelming as I spend everyday with them.     

The things they do make me nervous and cringe but I let them do it it anyway...

they're boys after all.

 Most of their teeth are gone and they're most always hurt but I'm captivated by them. The way they run with wonder and jump at doing the exciting things. The dangerous things. The way they spend hours throwing balls to dogs and never getting tired. The way they climb trees and love fires. 

The boat continues taking out my guys and bringing them back. The water bringing the laughter. The water and sun reminding me that the time is changing. 

Our dear friends making sure that we felt right at home. Loving on our little guy Aayden and taking the time

to sit a spell and share their table with us. Why is it that when you're in a home that loves your children and takes the time to get to know them your children talk so fondly of these new friends, as if they have been our best friends for years? It's the holding my babies, tying their shoes, getting them a drink, throwing them up in the air. It's washing their hands and teaching them for just an afternoon how to chop wood. It's all the little things that add up in my children's mind and these almost strangers become like family in one afternoon.

 When our friends slowed down and invested their time in our life for just an afternoon they made a lot of new little friends.
It reminds me to invest in the lives that are put in my path, whether it be for a month or just a day. It reminds me to  take the time to get to know and love on the children that walk through my door.

It's a reminder that these guys are growing and changing and I love watching them turn into the men that one day will welcome families in their home. I had to laugh at Coop who forgot his play clothes and ended up looking 'Amish.' He didn't care his love for the rough things couldn't hold him back.

I have been in homes where I felt like we were intruding and maybe too loud. I kind of felt like we we're just "too much".  

But when at the end of the day you drag your family away from the water, food and fellowship of a home that welcomes you and all your children it's truly a perfect day to remember and a perfect reminder

to love...  

 2012