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Today on the play date, I asked her if she could speak Vietnamese to Carter and, lo and behold, he still remembered!  I was so happy about that.  She would ask him questions in Vietnamese and he would answer in both Vietnamese and English.  It was so cute and it made me very happy.  I told her that I would really like him to retain his language and hopefully our regular play dates will help Carter keep his language and her son learn more English.  They were so cute together and we had a nice time at the playground.

Earlier this morning, Carter and I were in his playroom.  I was on my favorite chair reading the Sunday paper and drinking my SECOND cup of coffee while Carter was on the little sofa, looking at his farm animals flash cards and singing to himself.  I looked up from the paper after hearing his sweet singing and watched him play for a minute.  And then it hit me and I started to cry. 

There are some times when I just look at him and get completely overwhelmed with love and gratitude for this precious gift that we have been given.  And today, it made me cry.   At one point, he looked over, saw me crying, and came over to me, lips puckered saying, “Kiss mama!”  And I picked him up, he squeezed me tight, and gave me a kiss.  We just sat there for a bit, lost in the moment, me crying my eyes out.  Then, he pulled away from me and said, “Carter dressed, outside, ride bike!”  And so we got dressed, went outside and he rode his bike.

Fast forward….

Carter is now napping and I sat down to check my mail.  When I did, I received this from my friend Bonnie….

And the following note: 

Stopped and had a little chat with gramma j and aunt mary lou.  Told them they’re missed and what they are missing in carter and what a great little boy he is but that they already knew that since I had no doubt they’d already had many conversations with him
Love you guys!

Bonnie was my old college roommate and, while we didn’t know it when we agreed to be roommates, her father’s and my mother’s families were from the same small PA town.  Her grandparents lived across the street from mine, her uncle went to the prom with my aunt, and her father and other uncles had my grandfather as their machine shop teacher in high school. 

Sadly, both of Bonnie’s amazing parents are already in heaven and they are buried very close to my grandparents and my mom’s sister Mary Louise.   So, while she was in PA this weekend, she made a trip to “visit” them all and it really moved me.   Despite them being gone for quite a while, I still miss them so much — and I am moved to tears. 

But today’s tears were not so much about missing my grandma and aunt as it was for God reminding me that I am blessed with many gifts if I only slow down long enough to see them.  Thanks Carter and Bonnie for today’s reminders; you are both bigger blessings than I could have ever wished for myself.

So while I am not one to get overly emotional or don’t often give advice, here’s hoping that you all take the time to slow down once in awhile and admire God’s gifts all around you too.