It's All Worth It In The End...

So many things I'm thankful for, in spite of the craziness that surrounds my life with my new family. It's actually starting to get to the point where I look back on when it was just Sal, me, Mercy and Nick, and I think, "Oh, my word, how boring! What on earth did we DO??" Just the other night, we were sitting around the table (actually we have to have two tables, because we don't all fit at one; the two boys sit at a folding table next to the big one), and Sal was asking the kids about their day. One of them started in, detailing everything from waking up to the moment that Daddy walked in the door. The other kids were jumping in, adding their comments, and everyone was laughing and joking together.... tears came to my eyes, and my breath caught in my chest as I took in each and every smiling face, just so thankful for that small moment. It was like an out-of-body experience or something, and it suddenly hit me how soon this would all be over with, and it would just be me and Sal by ourselves again. God help me to always keep things in perspective, to remember that my life, Sal's life, the lives of the children, are but a wisp of smoke, passing so quickly from one stage to the next, and it will all be over before we know it; all our chances to make our time here eternally worthwhile will be gone. Help me to be more diligent to make the most of my time here with the children!