Thankful

I have been feeling really thankful lately. There are so many things that I could list here, but here are a handful that come to mind ...

1. Stevie (my sweet husband). He is constantly loving me & Evie so well. He takes great care of her. The big news in the "Daddy" department is that Ev has started saying da-da-da-dy. It is the greatest thing ever.

2. Reuniting with friends! What a treat it was to have so much time to spend with friends from near and far (Birmingham, Philadelphia, and Romania!). We haven't seen most of these friends since before Ev was born (and Steve & I had yet to meet two of the six kids we saw), so it was just special to get a chance to visit. We are thankful for these friendships that have persisted despite many miles between us and months & years between seeing each other. It was refreshing to have long conversations and spend leisurely time with friends on this trip.

Evie and Brynn are less than a week apart

Zeke in Spring 2008

Three years makes a kid grow up fast! 

Victor & Ava in Spring 2004

Whoops! No pic of Victor! Ava & Tim last week!

Frerichs, Deaton, and McLean kids

3. Traditions. We have spent each Memorial Day since 2007 at the Jersey shore with the McLeans. What a treat it always is to gather and be with our family there. Of course it was a special treat to have Evie there with us (last year we had just found out that we would be having a girl!), but somewhat bittersweet, as ever since we knew she was coming into our family, we imagined her sitting & playing in the sand for hours on this trip. As things turned out, she just loved watching the water and riding in the boat - and being held by grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents ... probably the best part for her! She had a grand ol' time. We are thankful for family that love her so much!

4. Time flying by. It is hard to believe that it was only a month ago that she was in surgery and got this cast on. In many ways it seems like this is such a normal part of our lives now and it is almost hard to remember what it was like to hold her before (every time I hold another baby it just feels ... weird). But it has gone quickly!  Only 11 days until the new cast gets on, and then somewhere between 2-6 weeks in the new cast (pray with us for less than four weeks!). We are so thankful for the timing of all of this - it is early enough that she isn't miserable at being immobilized, but late enough that she can hold herself up in the cast & be in different positions comfortably. And also that at the end of this, Lord willing, she will be 100% and ready to crawl and walk just like every other kid!