Couchful of Seven

Here's our new family of SEVEN!  What a couchful!  It is hard to believe that baby Isaiah is really here, and yet, strangely, it seems like he's always been part of our family somehow.  It's amazing how quickly everyone has adapted to this "new normal."

So far Isaiah has been an easy, mellow fellow.  I know it's too early to tell what his temperament will be like because he's still in the sleepy newborn stage, but I am thankful that he has been so great thus far.  He is nursing wonderfully and sleeping 4 hour shifts at night!!  I know there will be sleepless nights to come, but all this sleep has been a wonderful gift while my body is recovering from childbirth.  As you can see in the above photo, Michael is the most doting of the big brothers.  The other boys love him too, but spend most of their time just doing their own thing and playing together.  I am thankful that Nathanael, our 2-year-old, doesn't seemed phased at all by this transition into a family of seven, and I think it's because he has his older brothers to distract him.  He doesn't notice that mommy is constantly occupied with the baby because he is constantly occupied with playing with his big brothers.  It is encouraging for me to discover that having a larger family truly is easier in many ways than having a small family.  There are more hands to help out, and love is multiplied rather than divided.  Once again, God's plan proves better than the culture's plan.

Grandma Jean with Isaiah (in the kitchen--of course!)

Grandma Jean has been here for a week to help the transition go super smoothly.  She spends at least 3/4 of the time in the kitchen---preparing meals, cleaning up dishes, scrubbing the fridge, making more meals, and cleaning up more dishes.  When she's not cooking or cleaning, she is holding Isaiah and settling him back to sleep to give my arms a rest.  She has been such a blessing.  Again I find myself longing for family to live closer to us, but I must remind myself to simply be thankful.  Yes, I have so much for which to be thankful...especially this houseful, I mean COUCHFUL, of boys!