why i love my boys

the big boys have already left with jerry for our camping trip...abram and i will join them tomorrow. so i'm left here in a temporarily quiet house and i started wondering what i ever did before i had them. i started thinking about all i would've missed out on had i not had these energetic, loving, little boys. it made me think about an excerpt from a book by beth moore called feathers from my nest. she says, "oh, little boys do love their mommas. i loved how he would hug my neck so hard sometimes i thought i'd burst an artery. i loved how he'd look at me every once in awhile with eyes sparkling like stars and say, 'you sure look pretty, mommy'. and i'd feel pretty". this made me think about all the things i love about my boys and so i thought i'd share a few...


I LOVE...how they smell after playing outside...finding pretend snakes in the couch cushions...how eli calls me "momma"...bedtime kisses...caleb's fascination with wearing hats...how they're not afraid of bugs...abram's big grin when he sees me come into his room in the morning...how only i can make the hurt go away...hearing caleb talk himself to sleep...how they smell after a bath...how they ask a million questions about anything & everything...reading bedtime stories...how much they adore their daddy...when they belly laugh so hard i think they'll cry...hearing eli tell someone that he loves them...watching eli help caleb......how caleb used to call me "nonnie"...when eli snuggles in my bed and uses my leg as his pillow...their excitement when they get to go to maw maw and paw paw's house...hearing caleb say "e-y-i"...seeing abram suck his thumb...hearing them sing songs about jesus...trimming their fingernails so that the dirt temporarily goes away...making cookies together...hearing eli talk to his imaginary friends...their fascination with construction equipment on the side of the road...how excited they get when they find a worm...seeing them wrestle with their daddy...when eli tells me "momma, you look cute, like a little girl"...hearing abram say "uh-oh"...caleb's big chocolate eyes...catching lightning bugs...how they love their "nee-nee's"...hearing abram talk in his crib in the morning...seeing my blue-eyed boys' eyes sparkle...playing at the park...seeing caleb's excitement over corn-on-the-cob...eating cookie dough together...when they nuzzle their head in my neck...their excitement about thunderstorms...when they act like best friends...but most of all, i love the way they love me.