#22 of 30

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

The sun is coming up, Jaden is pushing matchbox cars around the kitchen while his little brother/sister is screeching in the other room. Matt kisses me goodbye and heads out the door to go to the office. Some morning cartoons are playing while I'm trying to get showered and ready. Me and my two littles, plus Mocha, our chocolate lab, head out the door to play in the splash pad at the park on Tabernacle. Later in the afternoon we take some lunch to dad's office at the Hospital. On the weekend, we'll take a family hike in Redcliffs. Sunday I'm playing the piano in Primary, and Matt's in Young Men's...  In five years Matt will be 30, I'll be 27, Jaden babes will be 5 and I hope we'll have a two year old and maybe another on the way. :) I hope we've got a cute little home with a yard so Matt can finally have his dog. :) I hope we're back in Utah, so we can be close to family. I see myself as a stay at home mom, probably a little frazzled some days, but I hope we're all laughing and having fun most of the time. I see myself with a young family doing experiments in the kitchen and baking cookies on those afternoons when I'm desperate to get my babes distracted from picking on each other. I see myself trying to teach our kids to be responsible and kind by having them take care of the dog. I see myself getting sentimental sending Jaden to kindergarten, but enjoying some one on one time with our second baby. :)
In ten years Matt will be 35, I'll be 32, Jaden will be 10 (weirdest thought), and I hope we'll have an 8 year old, 6 year old and maybe a 4 year old. :) I see us in a similar place: a (usually except when the kiddos are hellians) happy home, I'm sure a dog barking in our backyard, various church callings, and juggling everyday life. Matt will be working in the medical field, maybe assisting in surgeries, maybe in a primary care clinic, or in dermatology. I hope I'll have a wider arsenal of easy to make dinners so I can feed our family some more exciting meals.  I hope that I'm a fun mom to our still young family. I see myself reading lots to our babes like my mom read to me, and doing 'mad scientist' experiments to teach and entertain the littles. I hope I can take them on fun adventures to parks or museums every once in a while, but mostly I see myself at home helping with homework and primary talks. I see messy rooms, and backpacks in the front room. I hope that we're doing sloppy family home evenings, because that will mean that our kids are doing most of the teaching. :) I hope that we have a piano by then, and that our kids love music. 
In fifteen years Matt will be 40, I'll be 37, Jaden will be 15, and just for fun our other hypothetical children will be 13, 11, and 9. I picture myself having a girl next, and then more boys. Don't ask why- that just is how I envision our future family. :p So we'll probably have our little ladies man to rein in, he'll probably be a little bit of a handful I'm sure. ;) Our little hypothetical pre-teen daughter most likely has some dramatic flair thanks to yours truly. The younger boys probably drive her crazy, and I'll probably be fielding fights. We'll be chasing back and forth to keep up with the things our kids are involved in. We'll be an old enough family that maybe Matt will consider letting us pack up and go to Disneyland. ;) I'm pretty determined to make that happen, by the way.  In fifteen years, my heart will probably be brimming with all the love I'll have for my little family. I'll like Matt way more than I did when I first saw him in Ephraim, or when we got married and lived in our first home in Cedar. I'll be totally baffled that I've got a fifteen year old. I'll maybe be having a small panic attack that I've got 3 years until I'm 40. (Maybe I'll put purple streaks in my hair again in an attempt to have a midlife crisis.) I'll be feeling sentimental and clinging to the imagination phase of my baby for dear life. ;) I'll finally be able to decorate my home the way I've always dreamed, and I'll most likely be driving a mom-mobile that has french fries stuck between the seats. Matt and I will splurge on an anniversary to some beach that we've been daydreaming about visiting for a while because our kids will be old enough to stay with one of their grandparents. Maybe by then we'll have a gigantic California King sized bed, so that Matt can sprawl without me 'taking up all the space'. :p Probably not, though, because buying fun toys/clothes/room decor/whateverelse for our kids will be more fun. 
In five, and ten, and fifteen years I think we'll still be pretty much the same... but bigger. Not size wise- well... maybe- but bigger as people. I think we're just going to keep loving being a mom and dad, we're going to keep having opportunities to grow, and struggling over new learning curves. I think we'll still be fumbling through callings in the church, and being grateful for them later when we realize why we needed them. I think we're going to have plenty of moments when we're not sure that we can do what we're faced with, but I think we're going to become closer friends and spouses when we come out on top of trials together.  What I've written down is pretty idealistic, but it's what I hope for my future. I hope we have a long, normal, occasionally boring, wonderful life together because that's what we've got now. And it's perfect because it's what we need. :) It's all about the Little Moments, guys. ;)