The thing is...

Here is the thing about your kids. They are so much more than you could ever have imagined. If asked to special order them, to check off all the proper boxes resulting in the child you would like the most, it would be impossible to come up with this winsome, amazing combination that is your child. Each one is the same only in that they are so impossibly unique. (I notice that I use the word "impossible" a lot when speaking of my children - the wonder I feel doesn't cancel out the fact that parenting is the most difficult thing I will ever do.)  Everyday when Katy is one of my best friends, when Gabe laughs uproariously at his adorable baby sister, when Zach once again makes my jaw drop with one of his hilarious quips, when Rilla finds one more thing that will have us all in stitches and keeps doing it, when I think of Jacob and his heart for peace - how is this my family? Can time just stop as I watch them pull the baby in the wooden sled, looking for all the world like a Norman Rockwell painting? Is it possible that Jake is almost twenty, practically the age I was when I became a parent? Who will I spend my evenings with once Katy is gone? The thing about your kids is this - they are each the very best, and that in itself is a miracle.