Monday, August 15, 2011

Little Boys, Trains, and Sisters

We have been back from our visit to Kentucky for my grandmother's funeral and our vacation to Hilton Head for over a week, but due to computer difficulties I am just sharing a few photos from our time away.

This is my nephew.  He enjoys many things, but loves trains and dinosaurs.  This photo truly captures his intense focus when playing with trains.


I look at him and how he concentrates, how he plays and I see my sister.  I see so much of her in him that it causes my heart to overflow with joy and sadness.  Joy, as I think about all of the fun times we have had and how blessed I am to have a sister.  Sadness, as I think about how I wish she weren't 700+ miles away.


Does your sibling live far away?  Do you know the joy and sadness of looking into the face of your niece, nephew, or own children appreciating the bond you have with them, but longing for it more often?


And then, I am thankful for the many times we have been joined together for weekends and vacations during the last 2.5 years of living miles apart.  I am thankful to hear my son's name roll off the tongue of that little boy you see above.  I am thankful for all of the LAUGHter and petty disagreements that often occur between his mother and I.  I am thankful for a sister whom I love dearly and for a wonderful brother-in-law and a nephew that put a smile on my face.


I am thankful that my little guy enjoys trains and dinosaurs among other things.  It allows them to connect more easily across the miles.  It allows us, as parents, to connect more easily.



8 comments:

Ashley Sisk said...

So sweet - boys and their toys. I love that look of concentration and focus.

Unknown said...

These photos are too sweet! I used to live 10 hours from my nieces and nephews, and I know how hard it is! In fact that is the one thing giving us so much heartache as we consider moving back to MO. I wish it could be like the old days, where families stuck together ;) But yes, it is a wonderful thing to visit!

Kindra said...

These pictures are wonderful. You are very blessed to have a sister, especially one you are so close to (despite the miles that separate you). And it's so great that Bennett and Braxton are close enough in age to really enjoy each other. So glad you had some quality time with them!

Courtney K. said...

We are all about the trains here in our house, too. :) Such a cutie!

Deborah said...

Thanks for visiting and passing along the links of your two posts on forgiveness. The Steps were very helpful to me, especially #3 and #6. I am planning on doing another post in the future on forgiveness along with "my story" and I'd like to be able to link to your posts. I really appreciate your inspiring words.

Anonymous said...

These are sooo cute. I just love that last one. He is thinking hard.

Buckeroomama said...

These pics of the boys are so adorable, Amber. :)

My husband and his siblings live oceans apart and we all get together for a few weeks every year. We all wish that we live closer together. Our kids are all close together in age and play very well together. At least there's Skype and the cousins could still see and talk to each other. :)

Kristin said...

I'm sooo sorry to hear of your grandmothers passing. Life is so truly fragile isn't it. I'm still having trouble getting over the fact that what is here one day may be gone tomorrow, so I'm so glad to hear that you are able to spend time with your sister and the ones you love at least as much as you can. We moved 1000 miles to be closer to my husbands siblings and the kids cousins and I consider it something we had to do for them, and it's been wonderful to spend time with family and watch the cousins grow up together. BTW, I always enjoy your wonderful photos too, but just wanted to share those words with you.