My favorite picture of 2010

It was Christmas Day.



For us, Christmas Day is a day of relaxing and enjoying time with the family. We do not have to rush here or there. We have no obligations. We sleep as late as possible until the first kid gets up - this is usually Trent. After he gets up, I go ahead and get up Natalee because I want them to be able to look at their presents together. The past few years, I have tried hard to not "over-do" Christmas with all of the presents and stuff. I try to keep it as simple as possible. Yes, the kids get presents. I do not have a certain amount of presents that each kid gets nor do I spend a certain amount of money on each kid. Nathan and I shop together and come up with some special gifts that we think each kid will love.

This past Christmas was very special. I felt so blessed. Ryan was two months old and I could not have asked for a better baby. He has been a good sleeper, eater, everything since the beginning. Trent is such a sweet boy and he loves his baby brother so much. Natalee has always been a good girl and has a funny side to her personality. All of them are such a joy to be around.

I remember the night of my favorite picture. It had been a long, Christmas day. We spent most of the day at home. I'm sure we ventured out at some point, but what mattered most to me is that we were together.

At the end of the day, I went to feed Ryan in his room. As I sat in his rocking chair feeding him his bottle, Natalee and Trent brought their cups into the room and sat them on the table. They began to play in the floor - laughing and giggling and putting on a show, which is one of their favorite things to do together. As I sat there laughing at them, I looked over to the table to see what time it was. 10:15 pm.

That is when I saw something else. I saw just how incredibly blessed I am. I saw a green sippy cup, a pink cup with flowers, and an empty bottle. These things belonged to my children. My children. Natalee, Trent, and Ryan. My healthy children. Silly children. Happy children. Good children.

My heart was overwhelmed at that very moment. God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams with three children and I've never done anything to deserve any of this. Each one of my children is special to me and I love them with all of my heart.