Life is a Journey: Willow Day Re-Cap

Willow Day was so much more than I ever thought possible...

The hearing was set for 1 p.m. What that means for me (and any other mom of toddlers) is: NAP TIME!

Yep, I was pretty sure one of the two-year-olds would be completely melting down by the time the judge reached the bench. There was nothing I could do to change it either, which was really scary as the mom...I mean, we're supposed to roll with the punches, make adjustments where needed to get the results out of your kids that you expect. But how the heck could I make lemonade out of the lemons handed to us with a 1 p.m. court date for two two-year-olds and their tired four-year-old big sister??

I mean, seriously, if you expect three kids age four or under to behave IN A QUIET COURTHOUSE during their usual naptime, aren't you just ASKING for trouble??

The answer to that rhetorical question is YES!!

So I did the only thing in my mommy power to do...I prayed like heck and hoped for the best!

And I was simply amazed at the beauty of Willow Day...I mean, seriously, there was no logical explanation for the way the day unfolded.

The kids raced to the courthouse...as if they knew entering that building meant changing their lives forever.

From choosing a stuffed animal to take home with them, to sitting through the testimony of the trial...the kids were happy as larks. Never once kicking, screaming or carrying on. And, let me remind you...this was NAP TIME for them. Where in the world did they get their composure and grace from??

Then there was the Judge. Addyson adored her, and as I saw in this candid picture as I reviewed our day, that Judge thought she was pretty cool too. =)

And here are those kids. Waaaay past naptime, but still content. Seriously?! I thought, OK, just let us get to the car. At least we won't subject others to our kids tantrums if they throw them in the car, right?

Here's where the real amazing stuff sinks in with me.

I expected Willow to cry (she is our diva after all!) at the drop of a hat. So, what did she do?? She SANG!!

All the way home.... seriously...she

S A N G !!

Our car was filled with the beautiful sounds of Willow singing on Willow Day, right in the middle of the afternoon. She should have been sleeping. Logic would have said that since she wasn't sleeping, she'd be cranky and disagreeable. Instead, what did she do? She S A N G. All the way home.

We finished our day with a beautiful Willow Day dinner (after naps, of course! I wasn't going to push my luck!!). Friends and family surrounded us, and the hundred degree temps that had been plaguing us dropped to the lower 80's for the day, allowing us to dine al-fresco together.

Seriously...a little bit of heaven right here on Willow Day.