Too much cuteness to contain in pictures

I apologize from the start for having ZERO pictures of the very fun weekend we just experienced, but let me tell you - it wouldn't do it justice anyway :)

We had the sweet privilege this weekend of "babysitting" (really - loving on, playing with and being entertained by) these four special ladies while their Mama and Daddy enjoyed a weekend getaway. With military friends-as-close-as-family like this, you sometimes trade family-like favors :) and we were happy to hold down the Panter Fort this weekend so Mom and Dad could have some "lonely grown-up time," as the girls called it all weekend.

Let me rephrase that - I was happy. "Mr. Johnathan" was overjoyed.

Besides our own sweet niece, there are very few little girls in the world who have captured the heart of Mr. Johnathan like these have. It's a mutual admiration club, these five. And having just had our niece and nephews at our house last month, we were in full kid mode and looking forward to "playing house" with some ready-made kiddos for a weekend.

And boy did we get a mini-taste of parenting! Well, if parenting involved having four perfectly obedient, potty-trained angels delivered to your house for just 48 hours :)

The "taking care" stuff came fairly easy - meals and baths, fixing hair and clean-up time. And the rest was pure delight - painting nails, making cookies, sweet morning hugs, dance class, movie night, leaf-pile jumping, bike-riding and a trip to the park. If real parenting were always like this, I'd be ready to sign up today :)

Though, I foresee a much-altered sleep (and mood!) schedule in my future should we ever have children of our own. I did not sleep a wink - just laid there all night, listening for them to get up, need something, sleep walk or fall. And these are totally low-maintenance "big girls." Goodness knows how I'd be with an infant...

I did have one other (less troubling) epiphany, though, and a fitting one for this week as we celebrate four years of marriage and teamwork together -

Johnathan will make a fabulous Daddy.

Taking care of these little people for a weekend and all the schedules, tasks and activity that involved bound us together in a way we've never been. We needed each other to accomplish each task, to ask advice from and to complement each other's work.

And I was reminded that in this, and in all life's adventures, I'm happy to be on his team.

Final Disclaimer: For all of you speculators out there, wondering how this weekend affected the status of us having our own house full of kiddos, I'll tell you what I told the Panter girls (who are likewise preoccupied with when "God will put a baby in my belly")...

We would love for God to give us a house full (or just a couple!) of children 1/2 as precious as these girls and our niece and nephews. As for His timing on doing that...we'll all just wait and see :)

In the meantime, we are thankful for you sharing your children with us...

and the blessing of returning home after for our own lonely grown-up time :)