We Are Family

".....all my brothers, sisters, and me..." 
Did that title make anyone else go there? It's a talent of mine. You're welcome. 

I think I've said a bajillion times on this blog how much I adore that my kids are always developing their relationships with one another. Not like, strategic team building kind of junk (I mean, I'm type A but I'm not forcing them to sit around and sing kumbaya) but just like the every day stuff of play and share and learn and discipline and compassion and all that.  It's hands down the coolest thing to watch as a parent for sure. I mean, watching their interaction and enthusiasm and development with friends is cool too, but watching them with one another day in and day out is just the best. 

My girls are buddies. Most of the time (and I emphasize most intentionally) they are the best of friends. I over hear them saying nice things to one another or just playing together and genuinely having a good time with each other and it makes my heart sing. 

Kennedy sometimes gets an opportunity to pick prizes at school and she'll pick her one prize that she's allowed for Avery or she'll save a treat that she got at school ALL DAY LONG so she can share it with Avery. For real. Avery says almost every day when I drop Kennedy off at school "Mommy, I'm going to miss Kennedy today" to which I generally reply "me too baby...me too". When Kennedy is gone in the evenings for any reason she repetitively asks me when she'll return. They just love each other and I'm so glad they do. 

 Oh this cat...he'll sit on whomever will allow it. What that means is that as soon as the girls are "in position" he pounces (literally) on the opportunity. Glutton.

 The girls share a room and they've done really well sharing a room. If one of them is gone for a sleepover or a stay at Honey's or Nana's or Aunt Melissa's...the other is typically a bit beside themselves. Whenever we have cousins or friends spend the night, we make a pallet in between their beds on the floor & the next several nights they'll beg to "sleep in the middle" together. It's real presh. 

 Going back through some of these photos makes me long for warmer days....tank tops and crocs on my little tan babies. I mean, we had some 10 degree madness this week so it just seems so far away. Remind me of that when I'm complaining of the Carolina heat this summer, mkay? 

Grey gets in there too. He absolutely adores his "big sissies". I'd like to state for the record that I always said I didn't care for the terms "bubba, bubby, and sissy" and then when I heard my kids say it instead of brother & or sister it was all the sudden not only ok but cute. Anyways, right when he wakes up in the morning they are the first things he asks about and again when he wakes from nap. He, like Avery, is also sad when Kennedy goes to school and will  say "Momma, I miss Kenny" 

I remember when we got pregnant with Avery and I realized she and Kennedy would be 3.5 years apart I was really concerned that the gap would be such that they'd not be close. I'm so thankful I was wrong. As soon as Kennedy gets home from school every day she is "all in" and plays with her siblings until it's time to call it a day.

 Sometimes, because Grey is my "baby", I can be guilty of thinking he won't be able to "get" what they are playing or maybe they won't include them but by in large they include him and he catches on to WAY more than I would have given him credit for. They play house, they play hide and seek, they play all kinds of pretend stuff, it's just amazing really. 

 Wherever K and A are is where G wants to be...even if there doesn't appear to be room. Often times I'll see him sitting in one of their laps just so he can be with them. 

 After the school year started back for Kennedy, I was really nervous because she and Avery had spent SO MUCH of the summer playing together and Grey had kind of done his own thing with trains and trucks and what not. I wasn't sure if Grey and Avery would develop as close as a relationship and play together as well but they did and they have. Those first couple of weeks were a little tense with lots of pining for big sister, but then these two figured out how to enjoy each others company and since then they've been inseparable. I will say, however, that most of the time their play looks a little like this: Avery tells Grey what to do/say/play with and Grey does it happily. It seems to be working for them. For now. :)

He pretty much follows her lead. Sometimes following her is a good thing and other times...well.....;).  Good or bad...he's following her. We're working on that. 

 Over the summer, I was walking through a nearby neighborhood and someone had put this little Jeep out on the curb. It needs new tires but other than that was in great working condition...and the plug was under the hood. Hello? Haven't they heard of Craigslist? Anyhow, I was totally that person that pulled up and loaded up another man's trash and it became our treasure. 

 When I uploaded these pictures later that week my heart rate increased a tad and my throat got a little tickly because....before I know it this will be a real scene...in a real car. Oh.my.word. I hope they always love each other like they do now. I honestly pray for it. They're gonna need each other because this world...it's kind of jacked up and I want them clinging to truth and love so they'll be victorious. 

 And Grey? He'll be watching and copying them, because just like now -  he'll never be too far behind. 

I'm sure that will prove true for Micah as well. 

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." 

- Desmond Tutu