My sister-in-law sent me a link to a blog yesterday. It was a blog of a mom from Vienna where we used to live. Her son died in the flooding last week. One day she was posting pictures of her two children starting school together and a few days later she wrote what she had spoken at his funeral.  She was strong and candid and honest. It could only be God’s grace that is carrying her through this horrific time.

Today my mind is so full. We are awaiting results of tests run on a family member, recovery of another family member, reconciliation of others, and possible job loss for yet another.  All of these things seem big to me today and if I am honest my heart feels heavy, yet they seem so small in the midst of pondering this mom that has lost her boy.

We all know that life is too short and we all know that we should savor every moment. But why do I need reminders like this to jolt me back to the reality of our limited time together?! Clearly I need reminders. This mom spoke at her son’s funeral about the time she accidentally took him to camp on the wrong date which meant she and her son got a day and a half together that she hadn’t planned on and looking back had been such a treasure to her.  Last night we had expected to have guests around in the evening. When their day trip took longer than we expected we both jumped on the opportunity to have a family night. We got the boys out of the bath and pulled out the Hullabaloo game. For 30 minutes we were silly and laughed together.  It’s moments like these, when plans change, that I am aware of my need to snatch up those moments and savor them.

Today will be filled with wiping drippy noses, coaxing resistant yet tired boys into naps, and a blend of “hurry up Owen” and “slow down, Jackson”. The day will be full and I am positive by the end of it I will be tired. But hopefully I will have eyes to see and ears to hear all that has been given to us today.  All of those moments that were ordained before I could even make a silly plan.  I am currently reading “A Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are” by Ann Voskamp. I highly recommend it. It comes in such a timely manner when I need so desperately to be jolted into the reality of being thankful for all of those little things…even when there are big, tough things.

As my sister-in-law said in her email, “hug your kids tighter”.   Definitely hugging tighter and when I do throughout today I will be praying for this sweet mom who grieves her loss.

these are some of the things I am savoring today…

little boy wanting to be a little “big” boy

brothers learning to be brothers (Jackson had a rope tied to his jeans and was getting Owen to pull him out of the tree, Owen gladly stepped in)

tom sawyer

At the risk of you all thinking all we do is day trip, eat chocolate and go to the circus every day I am going to post these picture highlights from the summer.  Like most of you, I don’t often get pictures of the rough days so if it seems dreamy just give me a call and I can fill you in on the other side! Lots of these I thought I would devote time to blogging individually but Fall is here and it is clear that I am WAY behind. so here it goes…

On August 1st we celebrated Swiss National Day with our Swiss friends here. We went up the Gurten, the kids played and then we all ate dinner together. We headed home before the fireworks, got the kids to bed and then watched the fireworks show from our front lawn. The show ended with a big smiley face firework. Our neighbors went on into the wee hours of the morning with their own fireworks shows.

this was just before Ella fell off into the water, poor girl! Jackson was so proud to be pulling her across.

she paid him back for bumping her into the water by bumping him in the little cars!

Owen begged and begged until Seth finally took him too!

this is sweet Matthis, he is a month younger than Owen!

In August, Seth got tickets for Jackson and I to go to the Swiss National Circus. Jackson was ecstatic and loved that it was a date just the two of us. His only disappointment what that there were no clowns. As we passed the circus truck on the way out he asked to have his picture taken next to the clown that he thought he would see.

Last yr we arrived just before the Toblerone festival…this yr we knew we couldn’t miss it! In mid-August we headed downtown to get ourselves some FREE chocolately goodness. We didn’t hang around for the chopping up of the giant bar like we did last yr but the kids participated in games and we got lots of sweet samples!

Wait, see, you just had that little thought creep in that life looks dreamy over in Switzerland and then….

BAM. Back to reality. Owen is cutting 2 yr molars, Jackson and Owen have colds, and it was a rough napping day today!   It’s good to look back at these pics and think of happy times when we are having a rough day! Life is good.

A few weeks ago my brother Graham came to visit with his wife Tina! It was so much fun to have them and the boys got spoiled so quickly with their attention. They arrived late on Monday evening and left early Saturday morning so we filled every minute to be sure they got their moneys worth! We took them to the Rosengarten, Grindelwald, Neuchatel, out to dinner in downtown Bern (just the adults!!) and had a fondue night!

doesn’t Graham look so natural pushing  a stroller?

they were so close to gliding down the mountain! eeek. no thanks!

take a look at these views, mama!

once in a lifetime view from the swing!

ipad time with Uncle!

Owen helped Aunt Tina make jalapeno poppers! Yum!

Thanks for coming guys!! We loved having you. Can’t wait to see you at Christmas!

Last week was Jackson’s first week at a new school and his first time in real preschool. He was loving the English Speaking Playgroup but we were seeing a need for Jackson to be in a setting with some more structure (i.e. learning) and work on more specific areas like fine motor, etc that he will need when he goes to kindergarten. And after looking at some programs I love that Feusi offers a classroom with a span of ages so that Jackson has some older kids modeling for him.  He is in the English class and then has lunch with the German speaking children as well. I have absolutely no confidence that he will learn German more than a few words but that isn’t our goal. Many Foreign Service parents pride themselves in how many languages their children speak. Not me. We roll with it and I refuse to put them under stress for their resume to be beefed up. Jackson learned Spanish when he needed to and I am positive when there is a need he will learn whatever languages come along. Enough said about that.

Anyhow, back to the first day. He did beautifully. He settled right in with maybe a shedding of 2, that’s one two, tears. And by the time I picked him up he was wanting to take the time to personally say goodbye to everyone he had met. That’s my boy. Yesterday Seth took him for the first time and he enjoyed every minute of their grown up commute together. His favorite part of the morning from what I can tell is that after lunch they all brush their teeth. He got to get a new toothbrush to keep at school so he is feeling super cool being a dual toothbrush boy.

And now I officially have less than a year to begin preparing myself for his first day of kindergarten. I won’t lie and tell you that I can’t imagine a day at home without my kids. I love my time with my kids and I love the times when my kids are being taken care of by loving, capable adults other than myself.  But I am positive that I will cry when I say goodbye as kindergarten starts. Owen and I will certainly go through withdrawals at home without him and I know I will eagerly wait for the school day to end so I can pester him with questions. It’s just not right how quickly they grow.

Here is our preschooler on the first day at Feusi…in an outfit he insisted on picking by the way, red trim socks and all.  You win some, you lose some.  If he was excited enough to pick his clothes I figured he really didn’t need a polo and khaki shorts!!

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