Simply Blessed

I should probably follow up my last post with the fact that not ALL of the photo sessions were total failures.  I did manage to get a few keepers.  And when the troops all came home from church a tad too early, I figured I might as well invite them into my little homemade studio (black fleece draped over two chairs).

Ironically, baby B stayed asleep the entire time, even with all the noise her siblings made.

But getting accustomed to a loud environment will be a survival factor for her.  Hopefully she got a head start listening to all the chaos from inside the womb.  Unfortunately, it will never be so nicely muffled again.

But noise isn't the only thing her siblings will expose her to.  A plethora of germs also comes to mind.  But nevermind that, I should be focusing on the positives.  Which are many.   

Baby B has been showered with love and affection since the moment she was born.  She already distinguishes our different voices and turns to find the speaker when they are near enough.  She has ready smiles for every one of us--though R has trouble staying still enough, long enough to get many good ones sent her way.

B has two veteran big sisters to help take care of her . . . and to protect her from any overzealous love from the younger two.  K and S cannot resist giving her kisses or begging to hold her whenever they pass through the room she's in.  S can't seem to stop exclaiming, "she's sooooooooooo cute!"

J has informed me that "babies are the best things in the world!"  And that he's really glad that B is a girl, so that she can grow up like the rest of his sisters and someday have babies.  Then there will be EVEN MORE babies in our family.  He has it all planned out, apparently.

R is working on the big sister thing.  She seems to think that she has to make strange sounds and tilt her head in an unnatural angle to make the baby look at her.  I'm trying to teach her otherwise.

But I realized that she's got the heart of big sisterhood down when she told me ever so sweetly, "I will help her grow up, Mommy."

And I have no doubt she will.  That they all will.

I've been thinking a lot lately, about how blessed this little baby is to have come to such a great family.  But mostly, I've been feeling blessed to BE in this great family.  They are my joy, my sorrow, my everything.

And none of it would be possible at all if it weren't for this great man I married.  The man who makes me laugh.  The man who inspires me to be a better person.  The man who has talked me through every minute of every labor and delivery with an unwavering confidence.  The man who is my lifeline.  My very favorite person in all the world.

He is the heart and soul of our family.  And we are simply blessed to have him here to make our world go round.