Hello all.  It has been awhile since I’ve been on the blog.  I have been busy soaking up summer.  Literally, I love the sun and spend my days outside running, biking, working in the garden, taking the kids to the water park, and watching lots and lots of ball games. But as much as  I hate to admit it, I over did it yesterday.  Too much sun and not enough water.  So it seems like a perfect day to write a blog and writing a blog seems like a perfect excuse not to start folding the laundry that is piled up in the back hallway.

I dropped my oldest off at an open gym and her high school this morning on my way to take two of the other kids to a summer camp at their elementary school. On my way home I was thinking about high school and that in 3 years our oldest will graduate.  Then I started to think how many years of the school system we have left; and it is a lot of years considering our oldest will be in college before our youngest even starts kindergarten!

That kindled a memory of when we got pregnant with our second child and people were surprised; they thought we would not have any more.  For a few minutes I tried to imagine what that would have been like.  If we had stopped after our first child, I would never have known Duchenne, possibly living out my life without even know what it is.  And as happy as you would think that should make me, it was a sad little twinge in my stomach because if I had never known Duchenne, I would never have held and loved three of my sweet little boys that are growing into fun, ornery, courageous boys in front of my very eyes…what a blessed experience it is to get to be their mom.

If we had only one child, I would never know a June full of baseball games or how to clean a pair of baseball pants that have grass stains.  I would never have had to run to the sports store to buy my son a cup before his baseball game because he left his other at the field he played on the day before.  I would never get to watch a 9-year-old boy be the best friend his brothers will ever have because he doesn’t see a diagnosis, only his brothers and he is not afraid to tease them, beat them in a race, take a swing at them…because that is what boys do and sometimes he is the only one that treats them like a regular kid.

If we only had one child, I would never have witnessed my oldest start to cry the first time she held her baby sister because after 4 brothers she thought she would never have a sister.  I would never know the relentless nagging, tormenting and arguing that I spend my days regulating.  I would not know the feeling of shared excitement and anticipation running through the house like electricity the night before Christmas.  And dance parties in the kitchen would not be the same with just 3 of us…because 8 people jamming out in our tiny kitchen is my favorite family activity….EVER!

If we didn’t have this big, crazy family of mine, I would not know how sweet life is.  Living with Duchenne is not what I imagined as a young mother expecting my second child, nor did I expect 4 more children to follow. But without Duchenne, without my house full; I would not know how sweet it is.  What I’ve learned is that life is beautiful, every part of it.  It is a sweet nectar that you eagerly take and drink up; not to let any of it go to waste.