Yes, I am aware that we have been delinquent bloggers - sorry. It seems that the warm weather and longer days of summer make life busier - why is that? Since our last post after the beach, it has been life as usual in our household - until this week. Sydney and Abigail will be turning the big 2 this Saturday (please save your applause until the end of the post...), and Rebekah and I have been preparing the house for the family party, designing the cake, et cetera and et al. The girls are so excited - not - but they have begun to show the new side of 2ish behavior; you know mood swings, willfull lashing out, and crying for no reason comprehendable by an adult. Our girls have always been...well, girls...and I am sure that some boys are like that, too, but as we hang out with other's kids around the girls' age, we have clearly defined them as "more energetic" than most. The following is a saying that a friend of a friend gave us that reminds us of our place as parents in their lives: "Young children have intense feelings and needs and are naturally loud, curious, messy, willful, impatient, demanding, creative, forgetful, fearful, self-centered and full of energy. Try to accept them as they are." Some weeks I will look at our fridge, where it is posted, and read it almost every day. I would add "...because they are God's children and are wonderfully made." Enjoy the above pictures of Sydney and Abigail enjoying life. (more pictures on Flickr)