i will NOT miss these moments (Keira)

i refuse to miss any of these moments with my daughter.

these amazing moments with Keira.

no matter what.

i may miss out on other stuff.

but not this. not these moments with my family.

this is just the choice i'm making. not saying it's what everybody should do... just what i'm committed to doing - in the middle of a crazy busy season (and recognizing that life will never be slow...) i'll have to miss out on some stuff. and that's ok. but i won't be missing out on this family stuff.
i'm trying to finish my master's degree - some things might just be late or not get turned in at all.
in my job - some things might drop. and that's ok.
with my dreams and visions and goals for the future - they may not move along as fast as i had hoped.
in all kinds of areas of life i may begin to miss out on all kinds of stuff, but that's the choice i'm making. and it's OK.

but i REFUSE to miss out on these moments with Keira.

i'm going to spend time with her every day.

look into her beautiful eyes in the morning.

smile at her and see her smile back at me.

talk to her and tell her i love her.

i won't miss these moments of her grabbing my finger

or dancing with her in the kitchen

or reading her a bedtime story every night

or playing with her during bath time

or Crystal and i praying over her every night...

i don't even want to miss these amazing moments of seeing my wife come alive in ways i've never seen before. it's crazy that she's such a natural at this whole "mom" thing even though she's never done it before. it's crazy that she's this good - it's like this is what she was made to do.
i don't want to miss watching her do that.

and i know more and more moments are coming - i won't miss those...
1st steps, 1st words, 1st day of school, 1st soccer game, homework, friends, etc... etc...

i have to CHEAT somebody, so i choose to cheat everything else before i cheat my family.
and i am THANKFUL to WORK for an organization that agrees! i know i am blessed and that's not normal. so i'm crazy thankful to work in an environment that backs me up and encourages me to choose to cheat work instead of cheating family.

AND i'm thankful that Crystal and i both had great models for "NOT missing moments".
my parents & my wife's parents intentionally chose NOT to miss the moments with us and that spoke volumes to us. they had to make sacrifices and give things up, but we think it was worth it.

so i make the promise to Crystal and Keira both -- i won't miss these moments with you guys. promise :)

(below is simply Keira smiling at Daddy)