Delight

Isn't one of the best feelings in the world when a baby smiles at you?

I can have the worst day, be tired and stressed and have a headache, and when my Gracie smiles at me, it just instantly lifts my heart.

Today I watched my grandfather light up when she smiled at him. Recently I was tickled watching my mom interact with her at the mall ~ because she was tickled by Gracie's smile.

It just brings a feeling of... of delight. Maybe it's because at 11 1/2 weeks Gracie only knows how to express herself in two ways: by smiling or by crying. Who in their right mind would prefer the latter? (Especially when that was all we got for the first six weeks or so!)

But last night I got to thinking about Gracie's smile. I thought of my two older kids ~ two of the three greatest kids in the universe ~ and how I often take their smiles for granted. Don't get me wrong ~ there's not much I enjoy more than pleasing my children. I love to spoil them and make them happy. But how many times in the day do I dismiss them because I'm busy or because genuinely I'm not as interested in what they delight in? How many times does Joshua come to me and ask to show me his latest Lego creation, and I say, "Not now, Josh; I'm busy"? How many times do I say the same thing to Christianne when she wants to tell me something that seems to go on and on and on?

The fact is I take my kids for granted. They are wonderful, delightful children. They are smart, creative, funny, and fairly well-behaved. Yet I let myself get caught up with all the things that *I* want to do - important or not - and I don't want to be interrupted. How's that for being selfish?

As a matter of fact, in the few minutes I've sat down to write this, I've been "interrupted" no less than 6 times. At least tonight, for a change, I've stopped what I was doing to hug and love on my kids. After all, aren't they the reason I do what I do? Aren't they the reason we've made the choices we have? And aren't they three of the greatest blessings I've been given?

I don't want to take my kids for granted. I've already seen how fast they grow. They'll be adults before I know it.

I have to quit writing for now. My daughter is putting on a show and I don't want to miss it for the world.