dusting off the ole blog

Wow.  Last post was May 2011.

A few things have changed in our lives over the past THREE years.  More than seems communicable through the written word, and so overwhelmed by life, I haven't returned to update.

But I'm going to try for two reasons.

The first reason is the boys.  

Aaron LOVES reading the stories about himself and Sam as babies on the blog.  He bookmarked the website on our family iPad and pulls it up frequently to look at the photos and read the funny stories about what he did when he was a baby.  Seriously, all.the.time.  It doesn't seem to bother him that all documentation ceased in May of 2011, but I feel like it could maybe bother his brothers at some point.  Maybe it's the second child in me projecting.  (No judgment, Mom.  I judged you once for my lackluster baby records and I'm here to officially proclaim: I'm sorry for judging you and yes, it's totally understandable to have more time for your first child and not subsequent children.  My bad.)  

Anyway, looking back, I really can't believe how many things I've already forgotten about each season of life for the boys.  The blog serves as an invaluable peek back, at what I now realize are, fleeting days.  

Which segues perfectly into my second reason for returning to the blog.

There's a quote - "the days are long, but the years are short" - and it's a perfect description for how I'm feeling about motherhood lately.  Since adding Jacob to our family (spoiler alert: new baby arrived in the last three years...it's another boy) I have a lot of what feel like profound thoughts on life...well, mostly on parenting, but that's pretty much my life right now.  

I want to record them somewhere, if only to serve as encouragement for myself when the hard seasons come.  

So, I'm back to keep a record of these precious years, where the kids change and grow so much.  And I'm also here to make a record for myself.  I'm such a long way from being the mom that I want to be, but when I look back, I can see how much I've grown too.  

I'm writing more for myself and the boys, a family diary, if you will.  Which kind of begs the question, who am I expecting to read this?  I don't know.  My mom (see above), that's one.  I don't think it really matters.  I have thoughts and memories that I want to make permanent.  Here goes...