A Wonderful Life--the unedited version

Life in the house with 2 boys and man is amazing--always full of imagination, adventure, and odd body noises accompanied with laugher. Quietness and alone time are almost none existence.  I have heard parents joke before about locking themselves in the bathroom while they did their business in an effort to at least keep a little dignity!  Well, this morning, business called...so I set out to accomplish the task.  Jackson was crawling around very content and John Gannon was playing army men in the living room.  No sooner than I sat down I hear John Gannon coming.  He comes, sticks his head around the corner and leaves.  "Whew...he was just checking to see what I was doing."  About a minute later, he returns, holding Jackson upright as he practices walking.  When they both make it into the ba.."office"  JG lets Jackson down to crawl.  He then gets right in my face and starts shouting orders of what he wants me to pretend to be doing in our next imaginative adventure.  "Moma, pretend you have a sword and I am the ninja and I take your sword and then you..."  In the meantime, Jackson has made it over to stash of maga..."journals," grabs the latest Baptist record and starts ripping it to shreds and sticking it all in his mouth.  "Moma, here, you hold this sword and I will get this one and then you drop it and I will..."  continues John Gannon.  I finally manage to wrestle the paper from Jackson's grip and swipe it all out of his mouth--not before the ink completely covered his little face--YUCK!  As I was finishing leaning over to put the rest of the paper in the trash, John Gannon says, "Ugh..Moma, you stink."  He then leaves the office, Jackson squeals and crawls off to find him.  I finally complete my busines and carry on with day!  As I rubbed the softsoap onto my hands, I just had to smile as I reflected about how wonderful life really is--I mean, how much longer do I get to enjoy the endless chatter and constant invitations to play with my precious boys, somehow I just don't think it will be long enough.  I praise God for the ability to have lived another day enjoying their presence. 

Dear God, wow--you are an awesome creator--the birds, the wind, the trees, the grass, ants, oxygen---wow--your greatness cannot even be described, your complexity is beyond comprehension, your love is overwhelming.  Thank you for allowing someone as flawed as I the opportunity to serve you.  Help us all to enjoy the days you have given us--being content in you!   I pray that John Gannon and Jackson grow up to passionately love and serve you!!  So, God, as I live...dying, let me be a reflection of you to the world and let me remember to cherish the moments of time we have to invest in the lives of others!  Live a meaningful life!