Beauty blossoms from the Ashes.

The last 16 months have been a blur.

Sometimes Robin and I will be talking and she’ll mention something we did in the last 16 months, and I can’t remember it.  SO MUCH has happened since Amalea was born 16 months ago – that combined with a major loss of sleep – and my memory has been a bit hazy.

Tonight I went on Amalea’s blog… and scrolled through the archives.  I started at the very beginning – October 2007.  The pictures helped me piece together the past 16 months, and recall the amazing memories and experiences we’ve had in that time.  From the birth of our first child, to the life changing decision to move to Oregon, to making a new life here and finding friends and community.  It was amazing to see how much Amalea has grown – but in the background, or just to the side of the center of attention of all the photos (which is amalea) are Robin and I… and going through the pictures, I can see the subtleties I’ve missed over the last 16 months.

I try everyday to not miss the little things.  I try to hold on to each new experience our family has… but sometimes, the stresses of life cloud our memories, and I am so thankful that we are privileged enough to own a camera, and are able to record each step along the way.

Thank God for pictures.