Sunrise, Sunset (in which I share an absurd amount of pictures)

Little Miss started kindergarten this year.
Kinder. Garten.

What. The. What.

And then, as if that wasn't a big enough blow to my how-in-the-world-did-my-baby-grow-up-so-fast mama heart, this happened:

The same stinkin' week! I think there should be a commandment about that. "Thou shalt not impose more than one major milestone on your mother in less than a 30 day period." Amen.
And just to make myself all the more emotional, the littles and I have taken to watching old videos and looking through pictures from their baby days.

I'm a blubbering mess these days. I've been thinking so much about the days between these pictures. There were so many happy moments. So. Many.
And some tough ones. Fighting. Crying. Whining. Begging. Then the kids would find me in the closet and I'd have to suck it up. As much as I have adored being a mother, and relish staying home, there were some dark months in there.
The ridiculous cloth diaper months.

There was the potty training. Oh, the potty training!
The never-ending messes. Like the kind where your toddler licks sand off of her picnic table outside.

Super sleepy, tired days and nights that led to grumpy spouses that fought over nothing.

There were moments of worry, too. Especially with Fo.

A dear friend of mine stopped me and showed me that I was basically just getting through. Surviving, not living. It took a while of purposeful focus and prayer (and I'm still figuring it out) but I feel like I get it now. That annoying phrase: this too shall pass.
Oh man, is it ever true. Just never, ever under any circumstances say that to a mother wrestling with squirmy, tired, hungry kids at the grocery store. Not the time.
I am blessed with this blog. Because even though I felt like I would be in the littles phase forever (not a bad phase, but a lonely one at times) I did have some great moments and can look back on them:
LM's first pancakes.
When Fo was born.
A simple and sweet Halloween.
My doubts as a mom and my joy over what LM was starting to say.
Our oh-so-fun experience with one of our Dr.'s many eccentric nurses.
The many interesting comments made when I was el preggo with Boo.
This morning I have been working on this post for far too long. Little Miss "made a book like Mommy", Fo and Boo fought over a stool before I had to take it away. We are about to start school for the day (we homeschool 3 days a week) and a dear friend and her children are coming over to play later. She and I have known each other for most of our lives and reconnected when her youngest and my oldest were both still in carriers for our coffee dates.
Time marches on and this month it is especially poignant. As the big girls are yelling, "Hey!" at each other while I roll my eyes then laugh as Boo joins in, I wonder, "Wasn't it just last week that Mr and I got married? Wasn't it just yesterday that we brought these babes home? Wasn't it just an hour ago that they were playing in the cupboards?
Wasn't it just..."
Sigh. Soaking up every moment. Some with more delight then others. And some with more coffee than others.