safekeeping

recently, someone, somewhere said something about the importance of keeping our memories and stories safe and how, if we don't write our stories down for safekeeping, they might get lost or even worse, be forgotten.

it made me re-think about all that i want my children to know.  all the many things i want them to remember (everything).  things that i fear they'll forget if someone (me) doesn't take the time to keep their/our stories safe. i should tell them.  write it all down and do so often.  and maybe, if i keep in mind the purpose of my journaling here, it will be easier to not fall victim to insecurities that have kept me from writing in the past.  

at some point i think i stopped writing for us and my love for writing vanished.  i haven't been taking as many pictures and then i forgot all about what i'd started here and why i started it.  it wasn't until i was reminded of my love for journaling and the safekeeping of my thoughts, stories and memories that i thought to myself, "i'm going to start keep writing." 

over the course of the last couple of months, there were moments that we shared that have gone un-mentioned and this sucks.  like the time, in december, when brooklyn wowed all of us during her first tumbling recital with the incredible progress she'd made with only 6 months of tumbling practice under her "belt."

(see her, right there, front row center)

we did so many fun things in december and january and here i sit, a week into february and none of it is written down.  shameful, i tell you.  

christmastime was wonderful. we had one fun event after another.  by the week before christmas, the kids were both overly excited and overly exhausted and therefore, nearly intolerable.  it comes with the territory i suppose.  we get them all worked up so what can we expect?  by the time the month ended, i was ready to crawl into a black hole and hibernate for an indefinite amount of time.

then january came and went.

cayden had his 9th birthday.  2012 is an "on" year for the kids to have their friends over for a birthday party.  cayd decided to take his friends swimming at the rec center.  he seemed to really enjoy his birthday.  the kid is growing like a weed.  he wears a size 8 mens shoe and uses words that make me smile. 

cayden also earned his wolf scout badge and gave me my second mother's pin.  being a mom pays off.

he finished another great season of jr. jazz where he was named "power forward" and had the most blocks and rebounds for team "mamba's."

his very stylin' coach called him "caydzilla" and made him this very stylin' poster to hang in his room.

brooklyn celebrated the chinese new year by participating in a festival and play with her school class.  the progress she's made in chinese this year is incredible.   she looked so beautiful in her costume and spoke her part beautifully.

brooklyn works so hard in school.  she earns every 100% that she's given and this makes her dad and i so proud.  

as for gavin, the kid will poop in the toilet.  eventually.  he spends a lot of time in the commode, sitting on the toilet, taking pictures of himself with my phone.  he's petrified of the actual going-number-two-in-the-toilet-process but tells me "next time" every single time.

he has until the end of the summer to get over his fears because, as much as i'd love to keep him three years old forever, the boy has got to grow up and attend pre-school just like his siblings have before him.

i try not to think about how much i will hate having him gone.

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