In rushing around to get things accomplished, I'm always grateful for Jared and Emma's help in entertaining Finley or Thomas. Today as I joined them on the floor to play I was struck at how very tender and attentive these two not-so-big kids are.
They are unashamedly delighted at Finley's smile and genuinely thrilled by her every little sound or wiggle.
*sigh* Seeing my Emma cup her baby sister's cheek in her hand, my heart swells...and that relentless voice that tracks my every wrong step and parenting mistake suddenly quiets.

If, when I take their little faces in my hands, they feel even a small part of my adoration, then it is truly leaving its mark. .
And they're taking that love and doing with it what every mother hopes her little ones will do...internalizing it and then turning it out again, drawing others in and allowing them to become dear.