And A Year Goes By...

 Wow. I had no intention of leaving this place for more than a year. Chatterbox reminded me on the 4th of July that it had been a year since I last blogged. She likes to look through my old posts, so she was aware of the last time I was on here. It's an important space for her. She likes to look back at what we did. She is huge on traditions! And being able to look back at our traditions is fun for her. It's fun for all of us, really. So I feel that keeping a collection of these memories is very important to our family. I would like to try and get back into the habit of blogging regularly again. I was tempted to start a new blog. But I was afraid I wouldn't have time for that, and figured it best to just jump on here and start typing. So, here I am.
Now what? Do I try to catch up?
I don't think I have time for that either. It was a rough year for us. We were blessed with our fifth child. Our third girl. She is a wonderful baby (they always are). In two short months she'll be a year old already! I can't even believe it. I will have to think of a blog name for her... I was thinking of giving a new name to all of the kids. Some of them have out grown their names. And as Chatterbox pointed out, they all can be talkative, funny, and ticklish. And I most certainly think they're all sunny. :) If I were to give baby #5 a Little Miss name, I think it would be Little Miss Curious. But aren't all babies curious? Anyway... I'll have to give that some more thought.
So, as I was saying... our fifth baby was born and life was grand. For a few days... then all sorts of bad things started happening. More than I'd like to recount here. So I won't. But I will say that with difficulty, comes growth. And I definitely feel that I've grown. I've grown more confidently in my vocation as a wife and mother. I've grown more in love with my husband. I've grown in my appreciation for what we have. But most importantly, I've grown in my faith. I had to hang onto Jesus with all my might. He helped me get through this year. He was and is my strength. And so, even though this past year was a struggle, I am thankful for it. But I am also ready to move on. :)
Boy, it feels good to get my thoughts out (as short and erratic as they may be!)! I look forward to spending more time here again.

Most recent picture I have already downloaded on the computer.