Closing One Chapter and Beginning a New One

Well, the time has come. I never in my wildest dreams thought the end of my maternity leave would arrive this quickly and yet it has. It seems like just yesterday we found out we were pregnant, but it has already been a year.

I'm overwhelmed with memories and blessings from this summer and deeply saddened by its coming to an end. Yet I know this is just the beginning of another part of the exciting and beautiful journey of parenthood and being a mother.

I'll always remember with fondness the quiet moments this summer when I sat up in the middle of the night feeding and holding our precious baby. I'll remember the first time he smiled at me, his first giggle and his first efforts to rollover. I'll remember the precious afternoons we've spent playing in the floor, reading books, singing songs and doing tummy time. I'll remember the snuggling with him for naps, the playing with him in the mirror and the long walks we took each day. I'll remember our many daily excursions to the grocery, bank, post office, shopping and most importantly, our visits with Daddy.

I'll even remember the many challenges with fondness. The countless "pooptastrophes", the many a long nights (although we are still having those every night), the bottle rejections, the tummy issues, the struggles to get our little guy down for a nap, his lack of comfort with others, my not eating any dairy, soy, peanuts, etc. for 3 months and counting (no blizzards or pizza - AHHH!) and so much more.

To date, this has been the most beautiful and blessed four months of my life. While I know there are many more blessings to come, I'll never forget just how blessed I've been these last four months and what precious gifts I have received. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be a mother and am so thankful to have such a wonderfully supportive husband and loving daddy for my son. I'm eternally grateful for the precious gift we have in our little Camden.

It is with very mixed emotions that we close this chapter and begin a new chapter of our lives. It will be interesting to see what the future holds. For now, I'm just thankful for the time I've had with Camden and am cherishing every last second of our time together today!

So to all of you who have supported us this summer - THANK YOU! So many of you have called us, emailed, posted comments on the blog, dropped by to visit Camden, provided dinner, provided prayer support, driven long distances to visit, helped clean our house and taken care of Camden to give us a small break. How can we possibly thank you!? We are so incredibly thankful for our dear friends, family and colleagues who have helped make this journey with Camden a great one. So thanks for the many ways you have touched our lives. We have learned from your generosity and graciousness. Hopefully, we can pay forward the many wonderful things you've done for us! Thank you . . .