It should be obvious that pictures on the blog don’t tell the whole story. So many times I just don’t mention how it all became House of Pain right after I snapped the picture of our adorable kids laughing or concentrating on a baking project that I was such a cool mommy to let them help with. I like it when people admit that life isn’t always clean and happy. And I’m pretty sure everyone knows that all families have their shares of tantrums, messes, parenting fails, unfinished projects, and so on and so forth. But sometimes, some beautiful times, the whole story is actually better—much bigger, much more joy-filled—than photographs could ever capture. “An overwhelming grace” is how our friend Andrew recently described a day with his daughter, Adeline. I love that. This morning was one of those times.

I got up early enough to make a simplified version of Giada’s Baked French Toast, and the boys actually ate something I made (a rarity these days). We had a proper sit-down for breakfast, and the boys—in their matching jammies—talked animatedly with Jason while I enjoyed my second cup of coffee.

Then Clara woke up and the boys entertained her while my heart exploded with love for my great big pile of kids.

Simon is a kid of many passions: his first love was airplanes, followed by trains, then specifically Thomas the Tank Engine and company, then Bob the Builder especially and construction more generally; sprinkled in there have been bursts of interest in the guitar. Ian, on the other hand, has yet to really get into any one thing. He likes things that go—trucks and tractors and trains and such—and he pays careful attention to animals, but there’s hasn’t really been anything that stands out as his current kick in the same way.

We have, however, noticed that the child loves books. Loves. Books. He usually “reads” to himself for a half hour or so before falling asleep for naps or for the night, and when we go to fetch him from his crib, more often than not, he is already awake and quietly looking through his books. He’s even been known to page through a book in the dark.

Last night Jason let him keep his light on, and when we went to bed a while later, we found him like this:

Better yet, though, this morning, this is how Jason found our little scholar:

In the hustle and bustle of getting dressed this morning, I saw him already trailing after Jason with two books under his arm and begging, “Ree boo? Ree boo?” I don’t think Jason probably had time to read to him before all five of us got out the door before 9 am, but, man, that’s a hard request to turn down. I suppose it goes without saying, but I hope he is always so excited about reading.

A series of portraits of the kids.

A series of portraits of the kids.

A series of portraits of the kids.

A series of portraits of the kids.