Happy Birthday, Sydney Rayne!

Today is Sydney's 5th birthday. After my experience as a mother who did not always enjoy the "baby stage" of parenting, I'm finding that I'm unusually emotional about leaving toddlerhood behind forever. There's something so final about saying goodbye to all things "baby." Several months ago, Brad and I had a little scare, as mother nature forgot to send my monthly gift in a timely matter. I went so far as to take a test, and found that I was uncertain as to how I felt about the negative result. Shortly thereafter, I began mentioning the idea of a 4th baby to Brad, just too see if maybe we were on the same page. I quickly realized that, not only were we not on the same page, we weren't even reading the same book! Since that time, I've realized that our family is complete, and I wouldn't have it any other way. So, as Brad and I say farewell to one stage of our life, we look forward to the next. Our family is happy and healthy and we have found a joy in one another that didn't exist on such a level until this past year. I am humbled by our experiences and grateful for the 2nd (and 3rd and 4th, etc.) chances that God's grace alone has allowed.