Welcome to the Flip Side, Michael!

David and I got to meet baby Michael today -- it was so wonderful to hold him and see Kim and Michael settling in together as a family of 3. Beautiful!

He is absolutely gorgeous and perfect, and it was amazing to feel my heart fill with love for this little guy. I've felt my heart fill with love for my own babies, naturally, but I think it surprised me a little at how much and how strongly I already love Michael as my nephew and as cousin and friend to my sons.

Kim and Michael look great -- I am in awe of the teamwork and perseverance and grace they had while laboring to bring Michael into the outside world. If I've learned anything in 4+ years of parenting, it's that these things -- teamwork, perseverance, and grace -- are probably the key ingredients to good parenting and to keeping your sanity. They are on the ball -- little Michael is blessed to have them as parents!

Parenthood here of our crazy brood is going well. David and I are adjusting to the demands of our littlest man, who is still colicky most nights. We've accepted that every night for a few hours is going to be a little rough, and we just get through it. We're both tired, and we probably will be for several more months, but we've accepted that also and mentally that makes it easier to deal with. It's just going to be hard for a while, and there's no real use spending energy complaining about it or wishing it were otherwise, so we just push through and try to survive each day .... and coffee is my new best friend :).

I do often feel like I'm being pulled in a bunch of different directions, and some evenings I feel like there just isn't any more of me to give, but I think these times, especially, are the best for my soul. Like it or not, I know God is working through my children to make me holy :). Something else that has been good for my soul is to see the love between Jack, Thomas, and Peter. I've thought about whether or not having more kids means that the parents' time and attention has to be divided over more kids, and I've wondered briefly if/how much of a downside to large families this might be. What I didn't realize, until recently, is how much more love there is in a family when there are more people in that family. Peter already adores his brothers (I think sometimes they get his biggest and best smiles!), and I realized that when he starts crawling and walking and talking, he doesn't just have David and I to cheer him on, he has 2 older brothers to share in the delight and excitement of watching him grow up. Peter may not have as much of David's and my undivided attention as Jack and Thomas did, but he does have his brothers' love, and the development of that relationship gives me great joy!