I'm Verklempt

At the Christmas Eve service, I watched one of those magical moments between my kids that I wish I could have captured to see over and over again.

As goes the tradition, the pastor at church invites all the kids onto the stage to listen to a story while he reads. Jackson and Lilly anticipated the fun and were so excited to walk to the front.

The call came for the kids to come on down and listen to the story, so Jackson and Lilly shimmied between knees and seats to make their way down the row. As they reached the aisle, Jackson took a step down then stopped.

He looked back over his shoulder and saw Lilly right behind him. Jackson caught her eye and then instinctively reached out his hand to hold hers. Lilly gladly accepted and we watched their heads bob up and down as they bounced down the stairs and found a seat on the stage. Together.

For every moment in their lives that makes me cringe, I am thankful for the precious ones. Seeing Sweet Jackson stop to take his little sister's hand in an unfamiliar place put a lump in my throat and just melted me. I'm so grateful for the sense of friendship and love they demonstrated tonight.

Because like it or not, they'll always have each other.