Brotherly Love

I'm pretty sure this post has the sweetest pictures ever in it. Even sweeter than the baby chicks. All of these were taken over the course of just today, and I'm positive that I didn't catch all of the sweet moments, either. Just a few. These two boys are my heart - I feel like I should be celebrating THEM on Mother's Day, for coming into the world and making my dream of becoming a mother come true.

Matthew had a very sudden moment of deep sadness. I was concerned about what happened; if he was hurt, sick, scared - what was going on? He responded quietly, "It's my Grampy. I miss him." Grampy Steve passed away just one year ago. Over the past weeks, there have been tears from a lot of us. We miss him and the overwhelming love and support he showed these little guys. Matthew said, "Grampy usually comes to my soccer." I know, buddy...and I hope he's still watching.

This picture shows what happened when Andrew learned why his brother was suddenly sad. The hand holding was followed by words of wisdom, understanding and a little bit of gentle distraction. I'll never be able to look at this photo without getting choked up. They are amazing.

The rascals were due for bedtime a half hour before this next photo was taken - but how do you end this kind of fun? I'll tell you how: let them freeze their tushies off and they'll come begging for a shower and warm bed in about ten minutes! Between baseball practice, a soccer game, a zoo trip with their father, swimming with the neighbor girls and an almost 90 degree day, they were ZONKED at the revised bedtime. I wonder if they'll actually sleep past 7 tomorrow morning?

Instead of traditional bedtime stories tonight, they opted to lust after new Playmobil sets together. They were plotting and planning, deciding what goes on whose wish list and who had enough money in their wallet to buy what right now!

Little Andrew was so tired - he could barely get up and make it to bed. Matthew took full advantage of non-wrestling snuggle time with his big brother. <3

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there. It's the hardest job in the world, but the pay is overwhelmingly generous...especially on days like these.