I remember seeing things the way my four year old, Nicholas, does. But I don't remember when those same things, those simple things that once fascinated me, became the same things that my eyes would pass over every day without much more than a simple glance followed by an oh that's nice here and there. When Nicholas sees an orange and pink sky he gasps in amazement at the awesome sherbert ice cream sky.

Our kids are smart enough to collect pockets full of sparkling granite rocks, leaves painted rocket red and jello orange by the sun's rays and brown berets discarded by diving acorns.

I remember things being new and exciting too, colors being brighter, life just being...bigger. But as we age our eyes get too big for our own good. Ironically, we lose some of our vision and the magic slips away - bigger is not always better.

The great thing about small eyes is that they let in way more Light than big eyes ever could.

But I'm one of the lucky ones because my big eyes came with double vision - it just took the birth of my boys to wake that small part of me up again. And I am so thankful for that gift, especially during this time of year.

Today I was reading Planet Nikki in the latest print issue of Skirt!. Nikki writes:

"When I parked my car in a city lot recently, I noticed a pair of angel wings drawn in chalk on the asphalt in the empty space next to mine. My rational self said, 'kids making graffiti' while my mystical self reacted with 'what if it's a sign'? A sign that someone I love is watching over me, that there is more to this universe than smarty pants scientists know, that the world is actually magical, that iPhones aren't the only way to send and receive messages, that there is so much noise in our lives that sometimes a silent signal is required to stop us cold in our endlessly looking soundtracks."

At the very moment that I began to read the line "what if it's a sign" Pandora began to play Josh Groban's song "Believe" from the movie The Polar Express. At that moment I felt an overwhelming sense that I was experiencing a moment of magic myself - a shout out from my father who has been on my mind a lot lately. I think it was his way of saying you've been on my mind too.

I fill my life with magic as much as I can - reminders that life is big and is meant to be wonder full. From the Tinkerbell that hovers in my front window, to the many versions of the word "believe" that I have scattered throughout my house. From my collection of acorns to the Luna moth that visited my porch during her final moments and now rests in a shadow box in my living room. All of these simple things remind me to keep my small eyes open.

This time of year I find that people are more likely to seek out magic. The little kid in us all wakes up and remembers that a little magic goes a long way. Fairy lights, elves on the shelf watching and reporting to Santa, Christmas trees whose branches are heavy with memories. And to top it all off we celebrate the birth of a miracle. But what we fail to realize is that miracles and magic are all around us every day if we just remember to live with our small eyes wide open.

When I look around I see so many people who seem to have lost their small eyes. I know we all have to grow, but I think it's possible to grow out and expand what we know, rather than growing up and expending what we believe.

Have you used your small eyes today?