Home, Some Bitter Sweet, Something New, and Other Stuff

If you've been wondering why I went AWOL, you can ask my washer and dryer - they've been taking up all my time. We're home and settling back into life. Sort of.

We received medical confirmation this week that Pat's 'procedure' back in December worked. With that news comes both sadness and excitement. I'm sad to know that my womb will not carry any more children, that I will not have another teeny-tiny baby to hold to my breast. But there's excitement in moving on to a new phase in our family. A phase where each milestone reached is the last - the last first step, the last first word, the last time I pack a diaper bag. And each of those lasts (though sad) brings us new freedom as a family. I'm excited at the prospect of visiting Disney with our kids (a few years in the future), where all family members can enjoy the time and no one is confined to a stroller. How cool will that be?! No more wondering or worrying, no more getting hopes up, no more wasted money on pregnancy tests. I can finally work on losing the weight FOR GOOD, without the dreaded thought that I'm losing it only to gain again. Bittersweet moments...

Since I will soon be baby-less (Kai is walking pretty well these days, soon he'll be going to college), we decided it was a good thing to focus on the positives. To help me stay focused on the positives, our family went out and purchased ourselves a permanent reminder of how demanding babies are. Daisy Fluffy-Wuffy Rowan is a beautiful eight-week old Golden Retriever. (I chose the first name, Abbey insisted on choosing the middle name.) Pat is sitting beside me right now reading "Dogs for Dummies" so that he can take care of the house-training. Please Lord don't let him be called away for work for the next month... Everyone thinks she's adorable, except Malakai who is very focused on how yummy her puppy food tastes.

And - I am just dying to go to Church tomorrow!!!! It's been two weeks, and I feel like I'm starving to death. I have been keeping up on my Bible study book, but it's just not the same as teaching from our pastor. I am so fed by corporate worship, scriptural teaching, and fellowship with other believers. Can. Not. Wait. Seriously!