Do you ever catch yourself in one of those rare moments where time actually does seem to stand still… just long enough for you to take in something truly wonderful?  I have just stepped out of one of those moments ~ I literally had to shut the door on it, regretfully, for it was “night night time”.  Nya, just two months shy of 2 years old, captivated me in such a way that I wished I could press pause on life as we know it and never move on from here.  It wasn’t anything particularly special; no new word, no major breakthrough or milestone of any kind… just her being her.  But God allowed me to slow down long enough to take it all in.  Oh how often we busy ourselves with menial tasks, trivial matters, and day-to-day chores and forget to stop and just delight in the people we truly love.  You know what I mean… moms know better than anyone how to multi-task (it’s a necessary ability if we’re to keep up with life).  We put a toddler in the bathtub and return phone calls while sitting on the toilet next to them.  We nurse our babies while doing our Bible study lessons.  We snuggle with our children while in the back of our minds planning what we’ll make for dinner that night.  We play with their toys, but we’re actually organizing them and picking lint off the carpet.  You get the picture.  That’s why those rare moments, such as the one I had tonight, catch you by surprise.  And how we wish we could make it last so much longer then it does, but we can’t.  So delight in it and absorb it as best as you can, then thank God for that blessing.  I was a sobbing mess tonight as I left my daughter’s room with such a heightened awareness of her “growingness” (yes I know that’s not a word!)  Every day we spend together is one less day that we have left together, and that breaks my heart right now.  Yes there are days when I grit my teeth at her stubbornness, or wish I could have my whole house clean at one time, and anxiously await a time when I won’t have to change poopy diapers any more.  But how precious are these days of hearing her first “Dear God’s” and “Amens”, these days of tickling and high-pitched squeals as we chase each other around the couch, these days of total elation over “helping” to make dinner, and these days of unashamed kisses, hugs, and snuggling.   So, Lord help us to slow down long enough to be captivated by our children and to allow all five of our senses to take it in… to look right into their eyes, smell their hair, hold their little hands and feet, kiss them on the lips, and listen to their coos, squeals, giggles, and ramblings.