"Moma". Music to your ears usually the first word that is recognizably uttered out of your precious gift's lips.

"I love you". This is the one that truly makes you cry after you realize, of course, your little one knows exactly what it means.

"Why?" How many times can a 4 year old say that one word. Are they actually trying to discover the meaning of life already?

"I can't find.....!" Oh, I'll let you fill in the rest of that statement since your school age child usually can't find an assortment of things two minutes before it's time to leave the house.

"I think I'm in love". Alas, they're encountering their first love. Hopefully, it's an issue they'll share with you.

"You just don't understand". I'm not sure your teenager realizes that not too many years ago you were a teenager yourself.

Have you ever wondered why some time periods in our lives seem to move much faster than others. Childhood seemed to last the longest. Although, we generally spend it wishing for adulthood.

Once adulthood arrives we focus on establishing our careers, finding a soulmate, and starting a family. These years creep along at a rather slow pace also.

It's not until we experience the joys of parenthood that the years start racing by. Hopefully, you've kept plenty of film handy and a charged battery for the video recorder.

Our most precious gifts are born, develop, and emerge as young men and women in the blink of an eye usually giving us reminders of the innocence of our own childhoods - the joys, pains, and accomplishments we and our own parents were once so very proud of.

Is there ever truly a time when you let them go? I don't think we ever really do.

A saw a movie a few weeks ago. Each night before the children went to bed the father would go in to say good night. He would kiss each of his daughters on the brow and whisper, "Thank you for being my baby girl". Their reply would be, "Thank you for being my Daddy".

As parents, we are charged with the safe-keeping of these little ones. We leave lasting imprints in their minds and hearts of what life, family and other social relationships should be like.

I guess maybe that's why the time seems to go so fast. We have to make most of our parenting up as we go along. Having what seems like extra time would only make us question ourselves, our decisions. There's no owner's manual. We use a little of what our parents gave us, a bit of advice from other's venturing into their own unchartered parental territory, and a lot of prayer.

A very wise person once said having children is allowing your heart to exist outside your body for the rest of your life. I couldn't agree more