Finishing Nonnie Camp

Waking up this morning and realizing that today was the end of "Nonnie Camp" (my full-time job caring for Judah and Asher this week while their parents were at a JV training event) was actually sad for me.

While it's taken all of my time and energy this week, it's also been such a great privilege to invest in the boys and be a small part of their growth and shaping as little men. I saw it as a high calling with my own kids to pour my heart into them, and now see it that way with my grandsons.

And besides, who would want to miss such moments as this??

NO idea how his hair was all of sudden standing straight up! Totally cracked me up 😂

Giving of myself to these dear boys honestly had me smiling throughout each day during this week.

Sure, we had our moments where it was tough - that's normal!

But there were also SO many times that I felt my heart filled to overflowing that I had this week with them to set the foundation of our relationship, now that they live here in the Czech Republic. It will forever be different because of spending such intentional time with them for days on end.

When Tyler and Lara came home this afternoon, they both commented that the boys seemed to have grown this week. And I think they're right!

Sometimes when you're with kids every hour, every day, it's hard to see those changes. But I actually did notice it in both boys as I looked back over photos from the past week since they arrived here.

And to prove my point, Asher showed off this morning by standing here on his own! Yep, they're growing!

He's just 7 1/2 months old, but makes it look like he's going to take his first steps soon!

With both boys down for a nap at the same time today, I took a moment to give myself a thumbs up for a good week.

I remember Kristi, my sister-in-law, telling me one time that an aunt (or grandma?) of hers used to pat her own hand on her shoulder sometimes and say, "Good job!" UPDATE: it was her mom, Karlene! 😄

When it's day in and day out work, it actually helps to remind yourself you're doing good work!

If you're a mommy or grandma (or daddy, or anyone else spending untold hours with little ones), take those as words from your heavenly Father, who sees you and all the work you're putting into raising good little people. He puts a very high value on caring for these precious ones well!

Tyler, Lara, Judah and Asher will still be here at our house for a bit; they begin the process of moving to their apartment in Ostrava next week, so will be here until they're all moved in.

But I'll only be here at home for a few more days before I'm off again on another trip with Dave. So I'm planning to soak in every last moment of having them living here at our house!