whole

Now that I'm not pregnant and in a permanent state of grumpiness, I remember how truly blessed I am. This picture reminds me of that. Jeremy spent quite a bit of time finding (and repairing) new (to them) bikes for the kids and they couldn't be more thrilled. Those license plate name tags were a pure stroke of genius. What kid wouldn't love to have their name on their bike?


It's funny how sometimes you can be missing something and not even know it. Recently I realized that's how life has been for me for awhile. For the past nine months we've been anticipating an addition to the family, thinking about what he'd be like, what he'd look like and how it would feel to have him here with us. But the whole time, though we thought about him often, he was missing.


This past weekend was the first time we ventured out, all 5 of us together, at the same time. And I couldn't get over the feeling I kept having. The feeling that life was complete--Ryan made it complete. I'm not saying that we won't have more kids someday, but for now my life feels complete and I am content. I consider myself very fortunate to spend my days with these three littles buzzing about me.


And then there's this guy, who makes it very possible for me to enjoy this stage of life.


He was neglected this Fathers Day and had a pretty lame birthday last week, but hopefully he knows how much he is loved, adored, and appreciated by every member of this family. He is a great dad and is raising our kids to be impervious to teasing by teasing them constantly. And they love it!

I have more to share but I can't stop staring at my new son, so it will have to wait.