Family

Well, this is going to be a sappy one - so consider yourself warned!  

Several weeks ago, we had the opportunity to get some family pictures taken with Peter's family!  The pictures turned out amazing and I wanted to share a few of those moments with everyone here!  

These photos represent a lot of joy and blessings in my life.  I was fortunate enough to come from a family who has been very supportive of me as I have grown into adulthood.  That also extends into my relationship with my in-laws.  I feel very fortunate to have married in to a family where my kids get to have wonderful and fun uncles! Peter's parents have always been supportive of every endeavor Peter and I have taken in our life together and there have been lots of them!

All I have ever wanted in the family I married in to, was to be accepted into their family and to have them adore my children.  And I think I got that and more ;)

I don't even know where to begin when I think about my husband!  He is the glue that holds my life together!   He melts my heart and truly completes me!  I just spent 2 amazing weeks with this man by my side, and I got so used to having him around that when he returned to work, I just felt empty and missed him terribly!  He is an incredible leader of our family and I could not have asked for a better father to my children!  He always puts our needs ahead of his own and loves us all unconditionally.  I learned so much just by watching him parent our boys while he was on vacation.  He is a great, great man and I cannot imagine spending one day of this life without him!  

And then there is my precious, precious Malachi!  Wow, what do I even say about this little boy and his zest for life!  

I had no idea that I would have to travel the world around to gather my first child into my arms!  God's ways are not my ways and how I Thank God daily for His plan for our lives and His perfect timing of it all!  It overwhelms my heart to think of every little detail that came in to play, in order for this perfect little boy to become our son!

Wow, I melt in to a puddle of mush when I look in to those deep dark beautiful eyes.  He is a beautiful child on the outside AND on the inside.  His heart is filled with such joy for life and he wants to live it big!  I love learning more every day about this sweet little boy!

I also love how smart he is!  I know every parent thinks their child is smart, but really Malachi is smart ;)  He is so eager to learn and discover all about this world around him!  I just can't Thank God enough for bringing this little boy in to my life!  

And then there is Eli!    My precious little miracle! Malachi's eye's melt in to my sole, and it is Eli's little smirk that can melt me in to a million little pieces.  He also has the saddest little eyes that he can turn on when he needs to!  A major dream of mine came true when I got to carry this little guy through 8 months of pregnancy, and it all came crashing down around me when he was born sick.  There will always be a special place in my heart, where I carry those memories and carry a special little piece of my 5 1/2 lb baby boy!

I adore the fact that Elias takes so much after his daddy!  He is a hard one to get a smile out of, but when you do get one, it is well worth the antics it takes to get it!  He is pretty darn easy going and all boy in every single way! Elias is as sweet as sugar!

I don't think a mother could love her baby boys anymore than I do.  They are a handful but I wouldn't give them up for anything in the world.  So different in every single way! Born world's apart in completely different circumstances.  Completely different personalities but they are brother's in every sense of the word! They would be lost without each other.  Best buddies for sure!  I love this picture, because it shows perfectly how different their personalities are!  Love those boys!!!

And then there is my precious baby girl!  Again, I would have never planned things out this way.  2 kids in 9 months was crazy enough, but then to throw in another baby 14 months after that - insanity.  But I am so thankful to God for the insanity in my life.  He knew I needed this baby girl to fill a gap in my heart.  I will never forget the moment she was born and Peter told me I had a baby girl!  It was a magical moment for sure! My heart had never felt more whole than it did in that moment to know I had two sweet sons and now had a baby girl!  God is so good and I have been so blessed these last couple years!

Sabrina has the biggest most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.  Coming from a family (on both sides) with lots of brown eyes, these eyes of hers have come as a total and most welcome surprise.  I love gazing in to her eyes!  And her gorgeous smile, with her daddy's dimples is what melts me in to a million little pieces!  She is such a happy and content baby girl, but there is a feisty streak in her too!

My family is everything to me!  I feel like I have won the lottery of life with my husband and 3 beautiful babies!  God had (and continues to have) amazing plans for my life and I just get to sit back and watch!