The blog is coming to an end....

This blog has documented my journey as a parent since July of 2012. The blog began with my first pregnancy that ended up being an ectopic pregnancy, and the moments after where I so desperately wanted to be a parent. I reread those beginning posts, and I can distinctly remember the tears, anxiety, and fear that we would never be parents (or have to work really really hard at getting pregnant with medical interventions). I also read those words and think about how naive I was to parenthood and how parenthood seemed so easy. The words over the years began to include words like Lincoln and Declan but also began to include words like tired, not eating, speech delay, soccer, and school.

As my boys have grown older, I want to respect their privacy. The documentation of this blog served me well to remember their babyhood or those fleeting moments that I never wanted to forget. I look back on the posts and think about holding that three week old baby and the complete fear I felt about keeping that child alive. I remember the feeling of bringing home a newborn to a toddler who did not speak and the complete isolation I felt in a new house, new town, and my new job of being a stay-at-home mother. I also remember feeling beyond proud as Lincoln began his first school experience, held his own (and excelled!) on the soccer field, and Declan busted out of his calm shell and brought the funniest sense of chaos and unending love into our home. But, as the boys grow older, I am not sure they want to reread stories of themselves learning the ropes of school or beginning to feel apart of a school community (or the tears when they don't). It is no longer my story to share - my struggles or my happiness as a parent - and I leave the story here with a three and a four-year-old. Boys who love each other more than the entire world; boys who love their parents with their whole hearts; boys who have moments when Mom gets mad but also moments when Mom can't help but smile because she is SO proud.

Thank you for reading. Thank you to my parents for commenting on almost every post :). I am so thankful to have this blog as a memory because Lord knows I don't have much of a memory from these last few years!

Lincoln Alan Brown

Our adventures

Family of three becomes party of FOUR

Continuing our adventures - oh my!

Landing in Ohio, close to family, enjoying life and whatever comes our way.

Peace.