a picture for your thoughts

I know this is a strange photo.

Do you ever have moments you just don't want to forget?  I have them often and I can't always remember them all, but I try.  I try to stick them somewhere in this busy momma brain so I won't forget.

One memory I will never forget:  Gary, Layla and I moved into our house in Haslet.  We just closed and signed paperwork on our house.  Our very first home purchase.  We watched it being built.  I was sitting in the hallway on the fresh brand new carpet.  Gary was in the playroom that eventually turned to Layla's bedroom.  It was right next door to what was eventually Hayden's room before he was even born.  Dang, that was a mouthful.  I remember like it was yesterday.  I can still see Gary's back.  In shorts of course, because that is Gary.  He was measuring windows for blinds.  I prayed at that moment for Layla, for our family to be and I asked God to bless that house and all who stepped foot into it.  What wonderful memories we made there, but also what hurt we endured there too.  Life isn't perfect, but I will always remember that moment like it was yesterday.  I was a good memory very similar to this picture.

In the above photo Layla is letting me blow dry her hair.  Have you ever wondered when would be the last time you would blow dry your childs hair?  Layla is 11. She is going to middle school next year and she will be able to do her own hair.  I'll cherish every brush stroke, every single time she lets me blow dry her hair.  I don't want it to be the last time.  I'll always remember this moment just like sitting on the carpet of our new house.

Also in the picture I see her lotions.  She loves smelly lotions.  Lotions I never used until high school, but she loves them and saves her money to buy fun lotions.  That's Layla.  I see her cute outfit.  She carefully picked it out to attend a birthday party with friends.  I see her royal blue shirt.  The one that makes her eyes pop!

I see the pink bathroom in this silly little awful rent house.  I will certainly never forget this moment in this bathroom.  I'm thankful for his house, but at the same time I can't stand it.  This house helped us move back to Texas, so while I don't like it, I love it.  I'll always remember the pink bathroom.  The first thing Hayden did in this pink bathroom the day we moved in was barf on the carpet.  Yes, I said carpet in the bathroom.  Who does that?? Who puts carpet in the bathroom?  

Since I mentioned Hayden.  In this picture, I see his water, his lotions and his soap.  He can't take a shower in the local water.  He's allergic to it, so we sponge bathe him with bottled water.  When I look at this picture I see and will never forget this stage of our life.  This chapter in Hayden's life and the way having eczema has affected our entire family.  I will always remember.  We are stronger because if it!

I encourage you to stop and look at a picture now and again. When you do, really look and devour every single detail. Stop and think back to a time in the past you remember.  Think about a good time, or a bad time.  Think about how you learned and how it made you grow.  Every single moment, good or bad shapes our lives and our character.  I will cherish the moment I was blow drying Layla's hair.  I'll remember the little moments, just like I did sitting on the carpet in our first home.