Bumpy roads and love in our hearts

The past couple of years have been a long road for our family.

Do you hear me when I say a long road?

Along that road there have been some pretty steep hills to climb and some pretty low valleys that we have had to work through but along the way there have also been some pretty nice roads that have shown us how beautiful and kind the human spirit can truly be and with a little help from God, family and friends we have come out on top.

Where to begin how about May 2015---this little person joined our family, 

now this little person is no longer that small or quite however Olivia Catherine has blessed our house and our lives in ways we never imagined possible.

As with all 3 of the pregnancies this pregnancy was pretty typical and low key, Olivia did surprise us by being stubborn during labor, so much so that they had to deliver her via c-section, recovery was pretty smooth and we made it home. 
I of course had the 'fun' of postpartum depression that hit me about day 2 post-delivery, can anyone else feel the nagging of the depression/anxiety scratching at you about 12 hours after delivery, that seems to be my time when all the hormones kick in and begin to override my rational thinking and the irrational over takes me with the questions and anxiety that I can’t seem to shake for a good week or two. And during those few weeks of postpartum there is always lots of tears ,worries and questions of “will I ever ‘feel normal’ again” thankfully that all eventually subsides in thanks to a few weeks’ worth of anti-depressants and hormones leveling back out and we can always seem to slip into a new routine and new normal. 

As for the boys they have grown and moved with ease into big brotherhood without missing a beat. They love this little girl dearly and give into her every want and need even when they really don’t want to.

Brodie is now 8 and since it is the end of April that means he only has a few weeks of school left and he will move on from 2^nd grade and into 3^rd…I can’t begin to deal with this because 3^rd grade sounds old and big and moves him from still a little 2^nd grader to a bigger kid.  At what point do you think they stop feeling like ‘little kids’ and move onto the ‘big kid’ status?

Keaton is 5 and (gulp) officially registered for kindergarten come this August, sigh. He is a kind and loving soul. He loves to ask a million questions about the same subject for what seems like hours and then suddenly be gone off playing in his bedroom or with his school workbooks.
  

As for Kyle and I, we have worked our way through the past couple of years in what I hope has been the hardest few years that our marriage will ever see, and are now on a path that is one that is healthy and happy for our relationship and our children.
I can tell you friends that God is good and merciful and if you hand over to him what you think is an impossible situation, one that you think you will never be able to work through he will carry the burden for you and when you can’t pick yourself up he will carry you also, I am proof of this, my marriage is proof of this.
  

I am going to really give it a good try again and keep up better with this blog, no promises—fingers crossed.

Until next time…..