Soakin' it up!

These warmer days and absolutely perfect nights that we've been blessed with lately have been wonderful! We have been spending hours outside on walks, playing in the backyard, coloring with chalk on the sidewalk, and pitching the baseball to Ryan (he refuses to use a "T"--only live pitch for him, and he's good!). I could sit outside on the patio and watch my kids enjoying each other, creation and simple imaginative play for hours--it's been such a blessing and a joy!

I got the camera out on Sunday evening. Ryan would hit the ball and run around the playground, clockwise. I finally stopped him mid-run and told him to run the other way (call me a sucker for the details...) and he looked right at me and said, "On it. Winning." Chris and I both lost it--we were laughing so hard. He gets a big kick out of counting his strikes, noting "taps", does his arms like an ump for safe and giggles when I say in a loud deep voice, "you're ooooout!"

Swing, batter!



Gracious! How handsome is he?? I could just eat him up!



Ryan's biggest fan. {Her words: "I'm a cheerleader-go team, go, go team!"}



I said smile as she was watching Ryan play, and in one swift movement she turned to face me, tilted her head and smiled. I guess I've trained her well... :) So much for an un-posed picture...



Daddy lovin's!



I sure love these boys!



So happy...especially when he's walking/climbing exploring. He thinks he is such big stuff when he does things the big kids do. :)



I love how my kids play together so well--we really try to emphasize their relationships as "best friends" with high importance. Clearly, Anna-Kate is loving carrying Jack around like a {live} baby doll, and he enjoys it. Bliss.



I've got another "all boy". He loves trains, cars, and sports--but especially baseball and basketball!



Yep, still smiling as he high-tails it across the yard!



Thank you, Jesus, for these days. These are glimpses of heaven and I pray I never forget or lose sight of these simple little things. These truly are the sweet and interesting moments of my life.