Happy Birthday Lyd

October 4th, 2007 ~ early morning

October 4, 2007 ~ afternoon

First photo with all seven

When our 7th child was born 7 pounds and 7 ounces we knew better than to ignore that 7 is a perfect number and we put an end to our fertility and an end to our adoption dossier compiling.

7 it is.

7 it shall be.

Amen. 

Today #7 turns 5 years old.  Mothers are into cliches and mothers always say this, therefore out of obligation I must say, "It hardly seems possible."  

We joke and tease a lot about the strong personality that is Lydia Beth Livesay. She's always been sure her voice is heard - her uniqueness recognized. The truth is, the child is difficult to reason with much of the time. If we weren't the ones reasoning with her all the time I think we'd find it uber entertaining. To every negative there is a positive. The flip side of that is that she lives with passion and zeal; she loves ferociously.

While parenting strong personalities is more work, we've come to recognize it is also more rewarding. It's like solving a difficult puzzle every.day.of.our.lives. How can we not feel triumphant? ;)

Troy and I didn't set out to achieve the number 7.  Number(s) 6 and 7 happen to be the children that took us from above-average parents down to mediocre and frazzled parents. The thing is, for us mediocre and frazzled equals a lot of relying on grace, a lot of joy, a lot of feeling deeply, a lot of negotiating, a lot of laughter, but most of all - a lot of love.

Happy 5th Birthday to the baby of our family.  

We love you so stinkin much.