Laynie Lessons: Live in the Moment

I'm very guilty of growing my kids up at lickety split speeds.  When they were born, I yearned for them to sleep through the night.  When they were laying on the ground, (not like outside in the driveway, but on a blanket in the front room, come on people) I yearned for them to crawl.  When they crawled, I couldn't wait for them to walk.  When they started walking, I wished they were still crawling. And so on and so on.

Never could be happy "in the moment".

That all changed with Laynie.

With Laynie, that was all we were guaranteed.  That moment.

Our cousin, Janet Harbolt, upon meeting Laynie for the first time, said... "I think the girls doll clothes will fit her"...so she ran home, grabbed her American Girl "Itty Bitty" doll clothes, and we got to have clothes for Laynie.  Nothing was small enough.  Preemies swallowed her.  We finally bought "off the rack" for her when she was about 6 months old.  

This picture just cracks me up, because by now, she was like... "REALLY..another outfit, and what is with these bows????"   We were loving it!   The only thing about pictures, is you CANNOT truly grasp how tiny she was.  Full term baby... just a tiny little dink.  

We learned to live FULL OUT, in the moment.  That was a life lesson and TOUGH for me.

I'm continually planning a month out, what's for dinner next week, who's coming to see us at Christmas, what are we doing next summer... never taking full advantage of TODAY.... and Laynie changed all of that.

My friend asked me, "What about when she's 5? What size do you think she'll be"... and I seriously was taken aback.  I NEVER thought forward with Laynie.  What was, just was.  

And seriously... isn't that how God wants us to live??  "Don't worry about tomorrow..." rings through the bible.  Life is such a whirlwind of activities, we get so caught up in the "Doing" and "Planning", that we forget about the "Living".....

Don't forget about the "Living"....  that's the very best part.  

In her fun itty bitty pants.... we were pumped to get her some fun clothes.

Showing Laynie her new clothes.  Soaking in the minute.

4 months old 4 pounds.  Defying odds, living in the moment.

Even when they were hard... they were a gift.  

Laynie Lessons.