Shades then and now....

We are packing for another camping trip to Shades, for a weekend celebration of Ethan's 8th birthday.  Last year we headed down to Shades for the first time and just fell in love with the hiking trails.  Grandma Becky joined us for part of our trip and it was so fun to have her sleep in our tent, hike the trails, and try out our favorite camping treats.  This year Grandma Becky is again going to  join us for a day of camping and the Wolfe family will be joining us too.  Which got me thinking how some things are the same year to year and some things are so different.  We are going to the same campground and will be hiking the same trails on the same weekend; but how our lives have changed since then......

Last year on this very weekend, I was just starting to feel the morning sickness coming on.  We only had 3 children, but knew that number 4 was on the way.  It was early in the pregnancy and we were starting to think about how a 4th child would change our lives.  Last year our kids were 3,5,7.  They were hiking the trails like champs and only needed some help to cross the wide water. Last year we had one child with training wheels still on. Last year we had 3 children who didn't even know that number 4 was on his way. 

But this year we have number 4 with us, Ezekiel.  Ezekiel has been such a blessing to us all and I think we all would say with great joy that we are in love with this little guy.  There is hardly a moment during the day when he is not being loved, hugged, kissed, read to, talked to, held, or smiled at.  The kids LOVE their baby brother!  I don't think any of us would have know how much he would have changed our lives, for the better.  God is so good to give us such great gifts and to give us things that we don't even know we needed.  So, this year we have 4 children to take to Shades, to hike on the trails, to sit around the camp fire, to snuggle into the tent, and to enjoy watching.  This year we have no kids with training wheels.  This year will be another great camping trip to Shades with more memories made, more laughs, and more time spent together.