my part-time angels

Part-time. Full-time is too much work.

There's this one. And don't let the grin fool you. Right before we took this he whacked his brother with a baseball bat. A plastic one. But, a bat, nonetheless. It would help if his big brother did not laugh. It would help, a lot, actually. But laugh, he did, and so, of course, Jack thought it was funny. Me, not so much. But when he is NOT whacking people with baseball bats, he's a jolly little angel, with a cherub-like face I find it impossible not to smooch on.

And there's this guy. I think the picture says the caption for me. And in my defense, I was taking care of my smallest babe when this photo was snapped, with my husband behind the camera and our friend Vic cheering him on. Just a typical day of golfing with the guys, clubs on the back, a 5-year-old driving, and posing with a Sam Adams. Sigh. But he's a pretty cute one, if I do say so myself. And being the rather rule-oriented kid that he is, when I uploaded my camera and saw this one, with him sitting by my side, he turned and said, 'Mama, don't get mad at me, Daddy said it was okay,' with a very nervous and concerned look. Love this kid...I mean, angel!

Our she-angel.....our she-part-time-angel. Her soft voice and gentle demeanor are a bit deceiving. Of course, she is a lovely little charmer. MOST of the time, she's a preciously sweet girl, who loves to love, sing, and create. But I don't think we've gone a day, as of late, without seeing her impish side. She shows me what she is made of, and boy can it be something fierce- her stubborn streaks, her unrelenting will, and her need to test the waters CONSTANTLY. Then she smiles, and man, she's got us. We're working on strengthening our resolve, and teaching her obedience. Until we get it right, her halo will continue to be a bit askew.

And, finally, this guy. A rather handsome angel. This one, who helped create the 3 angels above. He contributed equal parts kindness, good looks, tenacity, and love. He contributed some other things, too ;)

So, here I sit, eating a candy cane amongst a crowd of part-time angels, and it's hard not to feel beautifully blessed.