Our Fourth and Final

Amelia Susanna

God knows best and He certainly is in control.  He thought it right and good for us to have our sweet Amelia as the last of our team members and she is a fire cracker kid for sure.

I don't think we have any children that don't have a ton of spunk and personality, and that suits me just fine.  To think I am going to live a happy life holding John's hand, sipping  sweetened tea with ice cubes on our front porch in a rocking chair saying, "No!" and "Stop that!" While the kids run about and chase the chickens...I'm pretty ok with that.

As long as our dining room smells like hydrangeas and our hard wood floors are swept I will have lived a full life knowing that God wanted my quiver full and my heart fuller.

You can't plan everything.  Some things are out of your plan and in God's hands, and those are the things you thank Him for later, not knowing how valuable they are or how much you needed them at the time.  Some times God uses our children to teach us things we would never have been able to learn without them.  Some times he stretches us, refines us, and pushes us further than we ever could have gone, making us stronger all the way.

I clearly remember begging John for another baby after Mark turned 2 and Julia was 3.  I felt like someone was missing from our family.  It was the strangest feeling.  I didn't feel complete at all.  Life was just as busy then as it is now, except now I have an 8 year old chasing the 7 year old, and the 3 year old chasing the 2 year old.

So often our prayers consist of making our lives easier, instead of prayers of thanksgiving for the difficult things.  I have learned in all things to be thankful.  I have learned that what I may think is easy may not be what is good for me.  I have learned that by having 4 kids my prayer life and my NEED for God is that much greater.  He has me right where I need to be.  I get to be a mom who struggles to balance all of the goings on of life.  But I get to be a mom, and for now that has been such a gift.

Our Amelia was the biggest shock of our lives.  We didn't know how much we needed her.  She truly completes us and evens us all out.  We feel really blessed to have two beautiful daughters and two handsome sons and our biggest job right now is to point them all the to the One in which we are eternally grateful for.  My prayer for all of my kids has always been to come to know Christ at an early age, to have a soft heart towards God, to make wise choices when choosing friends, and to marry spouses that love God as much as they love my kids.

Happiest Birthday sweet Amelia!  We are so happy you are here and that you were born!  I am pretty sure 2 is going to be another fabulous year getting to know you better and I know you will teach us something new about ourselves that we never knew.

Two looks really good on you sweet thing!