Time: Where does it go?

That's how I feel lately. Everyone says that it seems like just yesterday that their kids were little and to cherish every moment and I've experienced that first hand for the past 6 years, but it just doesn't seem possible sometimes to spend the time you want with all your loved ones.

Sometimes I look at pictures from when Ben or Kyle were Owen's age and wish that I could remember those times better. I know I was there, I'm in pictures, Mindy claims I was great, but I just can't help wondering if I could have done better. 

Is it our lot in life as parents to worry about these things? I don't know. Maybe I'm a worrier by nature. I hear I got that from my dad.  

But back to the topic of time.  I have this quote posted in my cube at work from Chuck Swindoll's book Come before Winter: "Listen-- God has given you (as He gave His son) sufficient time in each day for you to fulfill His perfect plan--including the interruptions!  If you're fudging on your sleep or becoming a frantic, nail-biting, hurried Christian, then you are adding to your day too many things that simply are not His will for you."

That's pretty blunt about our time and I'm convicted again that I should be more intentional about mine.  And maybe give myself a break sometimes for not being the "Perfect Dad."  

So in the interest of this not being a complete downer of a post, here are a couple pictures from adventures that I've had with my boys lately.  

Ben's reaction upon hearing that my frozen yogurt

was White Chocolate Mousse:  "Moose!!??  In ice cream?"

In the park a couple of weekends ago: 

"Daddy, here are some more rotten apples.  

Smash them against that tree again!"

I've recently started having adventures with them one-on-one (it just doesn't seem right to call them dates).  I try to do it at least once a month and I hope it can become a great ritual for us to share in the years to come as it evolves from roller skating and the pet store to hunting or fishing or just hanging out talking about our lives.  Just need to keep making time for these kind of things to happen.

Time.

It's a precious resource.  How do you spend yours?  And in what ways do you wish you could change that?