Tonight I was scrolling through channels on the tv, looking (in vain)for something decent to watch. I came across the PBS station here and suddenly realized I am PAST the Arthur/Dora Explorer era in my life. No one in my house is begging to watch Clifford the Big Red Dog these days. And funnily enough, that makes me very sad.

Earlier, I was sitting with my scrapbook and finally caught some time to work on a few pages. I put in Gabe's 13th birthday from last summer (I am sure I lose all kinds of 'good mommy' awards for taking so long!!)  But I sat and thought about how could it possibly have been 13 years already? And took a moment to be thankful about the type of young man he is becoming and how he is allowing God to work in his life.  

But it made me realize why I like scrapbooking so much.....it forces me to sit and remember, to take stock of what we've been doing, how much time has passed. Why I suddenly have children who seem too old for Clifford and Sesame Street and are now able to follow a recipe, make cookies on their own, babysit and (ack!!) take Driver's Ed. It helps me to be more purposeful about our time, to realize this is NOT forever and to really be in the moment.

Scrapbooking has made me a more thoughtful person, and in spite of all the dough I've dropped on little doo-dads for this hobby, I think I've come away the winner.