Wow. Its been so long I truly almost forgot my blogger password when it asked me to sign in. Shame.

The blogging trend has definitely taken a nosedive. At least the blogs I used to read and the ones I used to follow. My lifelong friend Meredith has inspired me to continue blogging. There are two main reasons why one of my favorite hobbies has come to a screeching halt in the past year:

Age and Life.

My kids aren't as hilarious as they used to be. That doesn't mean they still aren't funny and make us laugh on a daily basis. But I can't really capture these moments with a picture or a descriptive narrative like I could when they were one and three and walking around creating blogging material for me minute by minute.

The humor is more subtle now, but no less hysterical. One of the new phrases in our house is "awkward" - said in a long, drawn out manner and always used in the most appropriate setting.

Brent and I making dinner, singing old 80's country songs in the kitchen. Almost-9-year-old walks by, glances at us, and mumbles, "awwwkwaaard" and leaves the room.

That kind of thing just can't really be blogged about on a daily basis. But it doesn't mean that our girls aren't still hilarious and awesome and brilliant and gorgeous and growing right before our eyes.

Just over the Christmas break, I was showing Lauryn and Allie some of my old blog posts. I mean OLD, as in the first year or two after I started blogging, when they were both still at home with me and one of them was still in diapers. Lauryn had tears streaming down her cheeks from laughing while reading about some of the things she did and said. I joined in with her several times, shocked and, frankly, saddened, at how much I have truly forgotten. It would have been lost forever had I not blogged about it. I never want to forget a single one of those moments.

Then it hit me. I don't want to forget these moments either. The ones that happen in the midst of the day to day, school to home, practice to practice, everyday moments. While it's true, they aren't toddling around, lisping, playing dress-up, or just learning to talk, I still don't count these moments any less precious. These days of watching them learn to work through sibling squabbles, figure out how to deal with a bully at school,  or watching how ridiculously smart and creative they are becoming. Watching them grow up.

And life.

Oh, how life refuses to slow down no matter how I try to make it stop. Some changes have been made in our daily routines that just don't seem to fit the blogging mold. Nothing major. It's just that now, my free time consists of running to the grocery store, planning meals, doing laundry, and basically living at the girls' school. My role in PTA, as well as my new "job" as a substitute teacher has left me with so much less free time to sit around the house with my laptop documenting the funny things the kids are doing.

We've got piano practice and gymnastics. LOTS more homework and less free time in general. I wouldn't change any of it. But it's one reason why blogging just had to take a backseat.

So in an effort to put a smile on the face of my future self as I read through my blog posts years from now, I am going to give it my absolute best effort to blog more. I believe this is the millionth time I have made that promise. Hoping this one sticks.

The girls are in 1st and 3rd grade. WHAT?! Yep. They are thriving in school. Both reading above their current grade level. Lauryn is incredible on the piano. Allie has boundless energy and gymnastics appears to come easily for her. They are the joy of our life. I don't want to forget the details.

I'm not sure how long this blog will be "public", either. If I change it to private, I will be sure to contact those who I know for sure are reading (Hi Grandma and Mimi! :) Sometimes it's nice to be able to write something about your kids (i.e. brag so much it's disgusting) and not have to wonder, literally, who in the world could be reading it.

To summarize the last month: Christmas was amazing. The girls both got a Kindle Fire as their big gift from us. They have read books, played games, and tracked the weather on it. Lauryn is obsessed with the weather. She used to hijack my phone constantly just to see what the weather was like in Orlando, or Colorado Springs, or China. She absolutely loves to look at the radar and see where the storms are headed. The weather app on her Kindle was the most used app all of Christmas morning. That's because THIS happened on Christmas afternoon:

Snow in Texas on Christmas DAY. Unbelievable. Thanks to Lauryn, we watched it all morning on the radar but were still shocked when we actually saw it start to fall. Beautiful gift from God.

We are blessed with health, happiness, friends, and loved ones. Can't wait to make some more memories this year!