Eight Is Great

When I was pregnant with Addie, my pediatrician gave me some medical wisdom. He assured me that Child #3 was ALWAYS calm, sweet and go-with-the-flow. I believed him. I had to, I was in survival mode.

You see, Child #2 made me cry. A lot. She was so, SO hard. So, the moment I found out I was pregnant with Child #3, I prayed. Hard. Every night, I poured out my heart and pleaded for the Lord to send me joy.


From the moment she arrived, Addie has been noisy. She moves too. Like, non-stop. Each year, I keep thinking that the calm, go-with-the-flow child I was promised, will somehow emerge. Now, for the 8th year in a row, I'm fairly positive that 'calm' and 'quiet' will never be words used to describe her.

This daughter of mine has pushed me to my parenting limits. I still feel lost most of the time. But, maybe that's the whole point of parenting. Each child presents a new set of discoveries to be made. Addie has many.

When she was born, I knew that everyone had finally showed up for the party. She was the one who made our family complete. She is our exclamation point. I look at her and marvel at all she is. She is joy. Just not in the shape and form I thought it would look like. Instead, I received a joy that is so much brighter than I could have imagined. One that has changed my life and my love. Her joy is mine.

Happy Birthday my Addie Bean.