Holding Hands...

I had so many errands to run today. Tim took Micah and Summer to school this morning and a few minutes after they left, there it was. Summer had left her lunch box on the counter. Not a big deal, I had to go out anyway to run a number of errands so I would just drop it off on my way. We arrive at the school and are getting out of the van and Jake says, "Can you hold hand?" I reach out and stick out my index finger and he grabs hold of it--which is the only way he likes to hold hands. As we were walking together he is talking away and I just got kind of deep in thought. When will the day come when he no longer will hold onto my finger like this? It will not be long before I am dropping him off at school like the other two. When is he going to say words the right way (for example: decor-oceans for decorations or hoopo for hippo, etc)? When will he be too old for me to sing Jesus Loves Me to him for nap and bedtime? When will I no longer see him suck his thumb while cuddling with his toy elephant he's in love with named "Ellie"? I could really go on and on. I am sad for when this day comes because it comes when you don't really notice. I am soon going to have no babies in the house! What will this be like? It is all I have known for eight years. Too often I am caught saying, "I can't wait for...." and usually it is for the kids to be a little older so we can do more together as a family. But in just a blink it's all going to be changed. Today I am going to live in the moment. Just being thankful for this exact day I am in. The process of church planting is constantly having us making plans for the future. Not that there's anything wrong with a little preparation. It just becomes a problem when that is the entire focus. I want to take advantage of every moment, today. Well, not every moment...I could really do without the tantrums in parking lots :)