Returning

Pic is completely unrelated from post topic, but we blessed little Ava yesterday so I'm adding a pic of her with more to come:)

We've been away from the blogging scene for a long time now. I am sad that I don't have a consistent record of the past months, but to be honest I haven't felt like blogging. There were times I wanted to be in the mood to blog, but I was in a funk and never knew quite what to write. We've been dealt some challenges, but I finally feel like we are emerging on the other side...and we might even be better people with more compassion, understanding and patience than we once had and I think we may have learned a thing or two, but at times it's been a difficult road. In the midst of it all, it was hard and sometimes overwhelming, I felt laden with stress and worry and sometimes I felt like I was barely holding it together. We had lots of good times too, and when I began a pity party and started thinking I had it rough, all I really had to do was turn on the news or even just look around me and then I'd realize just how insignificant our trials were in comparison to the loads some people have to bear. Through it all we have been so blessed. Although life was busier than we wanted it to be and many times we felt over scheduled and some times overwhelmed. We really couldn't complain, we were healthy and happy and we realized that we are surrounded by amazing friends and family who seemed to notice when we were on the brink and showed up with kind words, or loaves of bread, or dinner, or would whisk the kids away for an impromptu playdate. I now know that we are surrounded by the best people in the world....ones who truly care and would do anything for us and we will be eternally grateful for such a blessing.
I hope to do a little catch-up on everyone in our family and begin regular posting again. We'll see how it goes.