I’m not going to lie…I’ve missed you (writing that is) and I’m ready to be back at it, just maybe not every single day.

This last week has been, in a word…challenging, for various reasons.

But all week, I’ve been reminded of the magic in the world, specifically, in children.

Our three oldest got to go to Camp Tekawitha for the first time this week and to say they had a blast would be an understatement. When Bryan walked in the house he said “they broke a words per minute record on the way home.” He was right. Listening to them replay all that they did was magical. They rode horses, swam in lakes, did ropes courses, climbed rock walls, did archery and talked about Jesus. As one of them said, “everything had to do with Jesus, but Jesus did all those things. Jesus swam and climbed trees and stuff like that too.” Incredible Magic.

In between all the things I got to spend some quality time in my favorite place with my favorite people jamming out to all of our favorite songs. Fun Magic.

This morning our 6 year old told his father, and I quote, “Dad, you are very skilled” after he buttered his toast. Witty Magic.

Today Cooper was not feeling well and we had some news that we thought might cheer him up. When we told him we had some good news and that we wanted him to guess what it was his first response, with complete sincerity and joy in his voice, was “Gaga gets to come home?” Beautiful magic.

Gaga, his grandma, has been in the hospital since Sunday, and he misses her. It warms my heart 1,000 times that the first piece of good news he was hoping for was for her to be set free from the clutches of the hospital (I’m 100% with him there…so is Gaga).

This same child, when asked why he didn’t tell me yesterday that his ear hurt said “I just thought it would get better and I know you have a lot to worry about with Gaga so I didn’t want to bother you with it.” My. actual. heart…broke. Cooper’s thoughtfulness is a magic that will one day change his life, and all those who are lucky enough to have him in theirs. Authentic magic.

Later in the day I was driving our kids somewhere and the topic of hair cuts came up, mostly because our youngest son isn’t a fan of them. I informed them that you cannot attend Catholic high school (where I work) with long hair. There was a lot of protesting about the fairness of this rule and Finley simply said “Mom, Jesus had long hair, if it was ok for him, shouldn’t it be ok for us?” This of course got everyone in the car fired up. Silly Magic.

I was looking for something on my phone in the photos section for a project I am working on and low and behold I clicked on a video I barely remembered taking and I rediscovered the beauty and magic of a child’s laughter. Goodness, it’s good for the soul. Healing Magic.

I felt my sons hand in mine this week while walking around one of my favorite places, the zoo. The joy those boys felt looking at animals, riding the sky tram and laughing with friends was a special kind of magic I desperately needed.

Tonight, while watching a Friday night movie and eating popcorn Fletcher asked if he could snuggle me. Absolute Magic.

The kids, in hopes that their Gaga was coming home today decorated her whole room. It’s complete with signs, a scavenger hunt with a prize at the end and a cellophane entrance. I cannot handle this. Insanely awesome magic.

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The magic is everywhere if we look around. It’s in the little things people do for us to make our lives more full, more beautiful and easier when things are just a little hectic in our world. It’s the text out of the blue, the help a friend offers to make things run smoother for you and the hug you desperately need. It’s everywhere.

I’m grateful to be surrounded by kids, a husband, family and friends that remind me magic is everywhere, we just have to keep our eyes and our hearts open.

#celebr8awesome

#GODisgood

#dorseyshenanigans