We were at the fair, the four of us. Anna is the type of child who wants to ride every ride as quickly as possible. The bigger, the faster, the better. Noah, on the other hand, likes both of his feet to remain on solid ground.
Brian and I tried to encourage him to just try the rides, we explained that he may be scared and nervous about the speed and the height, but once he faces his fears and just gets on, he would have so much fun. He just needs to get on the ride.
He wasn’t hearing it.
He did however, try the bumper cars, they both enjoyed them, although I can’t really understand it since they spent most of the time waiting for the poor employee to make their cars unstuck just so they could get stuck again. But no matter, they enjoyed it.
We did finally coerce him to go through a fun-house-type-slide-thingy, which he did very slowly and we thought for sure he was sitting somewhere in the corner because we had lost sight of him for so long, but he made it through and was absolutely ecstatic and very pleased with himself.
We ate dinner and then decided to go on the fun-house-type-slide-thingy once more. After that, we had two tickets left for both the kids. We encouraged them to use their tickets wisely. “HAVE FUN!“ we said. Noah, not surprisingly, wanted to go on what he knew, the bumper cars or the fun-house-type-slide-thingy. But we found the most perfect little roller coaster and Anna wanted to ride it so badly, but didn’t want to go by herself.
“Noah,” we said, “just ride it, you’ll have so much fun, WE PROMISE.“ “No, thank you,” he replied, not even considering what we said to him.
“You’ll never regret it!” we encouraged. “That’s okay. Anna can do it.” he responded.
I looked at Anna and said “maybe you should talk to him.“ So, my six year old daughter turned to my five year old son and said “c’mon, Noah, I’ll be with you.”
And he said “okay, I’ll try it.”
They ran towards the ride and immediately gained entry. Noah sat, nervously.
Anna checked in on him.
Multiple times. “Are you okay?” she would ask. “Yes, Anna.“ (she was so proud of him.)
The ride starts.
And turns out, his sister was right.
And the faith that he had in his sister just increased, somehow, their bond became stronger, at this moment.
It was the greatest ride ever.
OHMYWORD that made me cry! Happy tears for you and Brian, because I can imagine how gleeful and proud y’all felt – proud of both of them. And then happy tears for THEM, because OH, how good is it to have a sibling to make everything better, easier, less scary, less lonely? And LOOK AT THOSE FACES, BETH! LOOK AT THEM. I mean really — there are no words, are there? And then lastly I’m crying happy, hopeful tears for my own girl and boy, because they will have moments like these together! They already do. And these moments define their relationship and their love for one another, and that is so beautiful and almost worshipful to watch, isn’t it? Thank you for this. I’m gonna be smiling ALL DAY.
Amazing, amazing shots, Beth. WOW!!! The one of Anna (!) with the ferris wheel in the background is so perfect in everyway. All of their facial expressions. I just want to hug and squeeze them.
I’m so glad Anna was able to reassure Noah. She loves him so much.
Oh, this is so sweet! Sophie doesn’t have to do too much encouraging to get Sam to try anything new, unless it’s yucky vegetables. Now, if only there was a big brother to encourage Sophie to try new things : ).
Not only are these pictures amazing, but the relationship between your kids is also amazing. I hope Luke and Tommy will be like that.
Beautiful post and beautiful children.
one of my very favorite posts and pictures of.all.time.
and, yes, i’m ridiculously emotional right now, but i am totally crying. how i hope the same faith, hope, trust, friendship remains….and grows. for your sweet kiddos and mine.
chloe and anika had almost the exact same conversation about this ride. and anika agreed, but did not enjoy it. she still made the most brave face and sucked it up the entire time. i was so proud of her and thankful that although she didn’t love it, she tried.
How very awesome! And not sure why, but totally made me cry. Just sibling bonding is so very special.
And those shots you got…GREAT! Helps that the kids are so cute.
So sweet, and you have THAT moment captured.
Thesea are so great. Wow he looks so much like Brian in that second pic!
Steph
i laughed out loud at ‘no thank you’ because i can just HEAR him saying that.
anyway, great sequence of shots and fantastic post
what a sweet moment for the two of them! for racecar and ariel, i mean
These pictures and this post put a lump in my throat and before I knew it, I had hot, steamy tears running down my cheeks. In a world where there is less and less good and we find ourselves questioning the purpose of life and human nature, it is so refreshing to know that there are still good people, good families, families that resemble mine enjoying all that this life has to offer. Not only is it refreshing, it gives me hope for our future!
Oh my goodness that is the best, best sibling story ever told.
I’m crying over here.
Those two kids are wonderful.
I’m crying too, hopeful that my two boys will have such a wonderful, trusting relationship like your two dear ones. You should be proud!
And could your daughter look any more like you???
Oh I love it! Their bond, the pictures, the story, so perfect. Gave me goosebumps!
Sweet story about two of the sweetst kids ever. I still can’t believe that I am not going to be seeing them next week. What a sad day for me, but how wonderful for them. I bet they are excited.
What a beautiful post, Beth!! I can just hear how proud you are of your two amazing kids, as well you should be.
xo
such a wonderful post. Isn’t it amazing the confidence that siblings inspire in one another. I am continually amazed with my girls, especially given how much they bicker with one another.
Thank you for sharing this special moment.
Awww.. so sweet. I love the picture of Anna looking back at Noah… her concern, his apprehension.. perfect!
I’m glad they both ended up having fun!
I love this!
My brother and I have an amazing relationship. It’s so cool to see the seeds of that kind of relationship growing between Ariel and Racecar. (Are they still Ariel and Racecar? When did the change happen?)
I’m crying too. What a beautiful story! I’m crying though because my son is an only child and I think that’s the way its going to stay. At this moment I’m second guessing my decision, though I know its my own to make.
Thanks for the happy tears though!
I absolutely love this! The joy on his face and the faith he now has in his sister? Priceless.
Awesome story, awesome pictures, awesome post. But who are Anna and Noah and what did you do with Ariel and Racecar?:)
That is the sweetest story ever. My older kids are 5 and 4 and I love the bond they have as well. What a special relationship – and how wonderful for you to have captured it, so on the days they forget how wonderful the other is, you can show them this to remind them
What a cute post!
That just made my day – thanks!
They’re quite the pair!
I just loved this!! Aren’t you glad you have the pictures to document such a wonderful moment? It gives you a glimpse of how they will support each other later in life. Siblings are a blessing.
AWW! I love the faith he had in her, and the expression on his face when the ride took off. You brought tears to my eyes. Great story and great photos.
I love this post. Seriously, love it. Your kids are gorgeous, by the way!! Anna looks so much like you!
My brother and I had a great relationship as children. I hope your children keep it as they grow. So lovely. And I adore their names.
Nell
What a precious story and amazing pictures! I have tears in my eyes I’m so happy for Noah. His faith in Anna and her concern for him are a beautiful thing. What a wonderful day for all of you.
Oh, they are so sweet. Great shots, Beth!
How adorable! They will love looking back at this story when they are older…so sweet!
What a darling story about 2 darling children. They are going to be the best of friends later in life. That story made me giggle and cry. Thank you for that.
I’ve been hooked on your blog (the name cought my eye) since I found you some time ago.
I too should be folding laundry.. And doing dishes..
Thanks again for sharing these great stories!
That story made me tear up. I think that is so cute. I hope that friendship and bond continues to grow as they get older. they will need one another more and more. You are so lucky to have such a loving and beautiful family. Thank you for sharing the story.
what a great day they had.
Oh my goodness, I just want to give Noah a big hug…he looked so nervous! I’m so happy that they are so close…you have amazing kids!
Awesome post. Awesome pictures.
Sob Sob…so heartwarming to watch brother and sisterly love like that. They are precious.
Sounds like it was a wonderful experience for both of them!
what a fun time for both of them! anna is a great big sister
. and i love your bright, colorful pictures documenting your memories :O)
What a toughtful big sister! So glad he didnt regret his decision! When will the buys learn to trust us girls…we know what we are talking about 90% of the time!
I love this post almost as much as I love Anna and Noah.
not much to say besides wanting to add to the list of folks crying over this post…how sweet and wonderful and special for those two little kiddos to be able to share moments like that, and for you, to swell with pride and love and excitement for them!!!
I got teary too, gawd aren’t we such a bunch of saps.
Love this, for so many reasons…
That’s adorable! You are a great photographer BTW!
What a wonderful story. It had all the elements: love, trust, adventure, daring and bravery. And those pictures!!!! My Gosh! They are absolutely, undeniably incredible! You Rock!
How unbelievably sweet. The only thing sweeter is that wrote about him for them to have it to look back on. Sure, we have a lot of pictures of our childhood but the blessing of mom writing about these moments is so incredible.
Great job, mom!
Totally in tears here, too. Beautiful names (!!!), beautiful shots, beautiful story. And I say beautiful in the least trite way possible . . . this is just aches and throbs with beauty. Gorgeous.
I’m really glad she pressured him into it! Oh just kidding! They are such sweet siblings, really…