Welcome to the world!

John Caleb was born Thursday night, weighing in at 7 lbs and 9 ounces. This makes #5 for my brother Ben & sister in law Danielle. They are finally getting to go home today! We are all so excited for this new bundle of joy...especially Sawyer. When I held baby John I had more movement than ever going on inside. I think the cousins will be close :)  He is so tiny & precious and it made me all the more eager for our arrival of Sawyer. It is a gift from God to enjoy the arrival of children instead of being sad and jealous & I'm thankful for this life, thankful for my heart change & for the wonderful family this little boy will grow up in.

Mama

I'm not one of those people who go on & on about how wonderful a person is online when I could just tell it to their face - but I simply must state that I have the most incredible mother! Her love & kindness to me and everyone I know is astounding. She is the most thoughtful person in the world and generous beyond compare. Her unconditional love as a wife, mother & grandmother is amazing to watch. I hope I can become half the person she is....spending hours with my grandpa at the nursing home every week, caring for grandchildren A LOT, always thinking of others, leading other women in bible study and discipleship, working harder than anyone I know & having godly wisdom to always help - I'm blessed.

                                    

                                        Each day she becomes more wonderful. I love you mom.

Busy & fun weekend...dinner with my brother's family on Friday and an evening with my sister's kids on Saturday...a day of church mixed in with some shopping today.
Blake's potty training is going great! Finally bit the bullet and brought him in public without the safety diaper and he let me know when he had to go...then today at church an entire 3 hours and no accidents. Am I the only mom who has potty trained a kid who still sleeps with a pacifier? That's my next battle that I'm STILL putting off.
Fun moment...lady at mall "are they twins?"  me..."no, but they are close, feels like twins"....lady "how old are they?"   me "they are 4 months apart, she is from Ethiopia"   lady "but are they brother and sister?"   me "yes they are"   lady "they REALLY look a lot alike. They look like twins. But they can't be, right, because she's not from America"   me  "where's your bathroom?" and walk away leaving her still a bit confused. Another lovely adoption moment.
Watching them hold hands & say I love you to each other = melt my heart.

With mother's day approaching I'm still completely aware of how difficult this day can be for a lot of women. I've only been able to celebrate this 2 times but as someone who has seen both sides of the spectrum - moms truly deserve a special day after all they do for their children, but we all need to be sensitive to those would love nothing more than to be a mom and on days like this it often feels like rubbing salt in a wound. I remember never wanting to go to church on mother's day & I don't want to forget that. Ever.

Blake gets stitches out this week, Sawyer is 25 weeks & Joe is enjoying his last days as a 40 year old. My cute nephew Drew told him he looked like he was 60. I said that's as old as poppet (my dad)...does Joe look as old as poppet? He replied well, yeah. I love it.