the other end of the smart phone

For 5 weeks I've bombarded Matt with photos.  And videos.  And voice texts. 

His absence makes me even more aware of how precious the moments really are - my heart hurts that he misses these little things.  (Reality is that I sometimes feel like that at the end of a day - how can he leave for work and know he's going to miss hours of these kiddos ... and of course, he misses hours of grumbling and complaining and whining too.  I guess it's an even trade off?)

Life is not all smiles and photographic moments, despite the pictures in this post.  In fact, I think I'll start off with this one (from a few weeks ago) just so you can see how good John Paul is at expressing disappointment with Mommy.  In this case I had just told him he could not pick at Grandmama's flowers.  Quick as a flash the lower lip was out and tears flooded the eyes! 

But in the brighter moments I'm reaching for my phone, sending pics across the ocean.  Yesterday I took these....

Isaac drew this picture of a snowball fight.  That's me on the left (wearing a dress, which is why my legs look short).  Isaac (on the right) clarified that his snowball was both larger and faster than mine.  Looks like I better watch out when we head to the snow-covered north! 

Isaac learning to wink

It's tricky.  Just ask me.  I can't wink. 

Making "welcome Daddy" posters (didn't send this one to Matt, don't want to ruin the surprise!)

The finished products.  It'll be a while before the glue dries on a few of these :)

Christmas cookie decorating

and eating, of course!

Our smart phone saga is coming to a close though - Matt is already en route, on his first airplane.  It's another 25 hours before he arrives, but it feels SO good to know he is getting closer every minute!  I can't wait to  have him here, with us, watching these silly drawings take shape, and getting a good look at Isaac's new winking skills, and admiring his posters and eating our cookies.