Our Hospital Stay.

The thing I want to remember most about our hospital stay is simply this:  love.  While it still seems surreal to me to think that I am the mother of three (3!) unbelievably fantastic kids, what isn't hard to believe is the pure, uninhibited joy the birth of Emmy has brought to our family.

My heart smiles when I remember watching Harris and Babe stretch out their arms to snuggle their new baby sister for the first time.  It even smiles when I remember how they argued with each other over whose turn it was to hold her, and how Hadley cried and cried and cried when someone else took that sweet baby away.

I love that Mom printed out pictures for the kids to take and share with their friends at school and Ms. Ginnell's, and I'll never forget the pride on Harris' face when he told me all about showing his pictures to his kindergarten class.

I love, love, love thinking about all the friends and family who visited us in the hospital and who showered Emmy with sweet gifts and literally fed Ben and I food that far exceeded that provided by the hospital.  I treasure the smiles and the laughs and the hugs and the company and the prayers that came our way in those three days.

I'll especially treasure, though, the time that Ben and I got to spend on our own getting to know the newest addition to our family.  There's nothing quite like the sleep-deprived state of staring in awe at your brand new baby, marvelling at her fingers and toes and hair and skinny legs and teeny tiny bottom.  It's priceless.

And I'll never forget Ben.  It's funny how, even when you know someone is a fantastic dad and wonderful husband, they can still surprise you with a depth of tenderness and strength that doesn't always have the opportunity to display itself on a daily basis.  I fell in love with Ben all over again during our time in the hospital.

I want to always remember hearing him snore from his "couch-bed" right next to mine, and watching him change every single diaper during our stay, and having him escort me on our "family walks" around the hosptial wing, and seeing him hug and love on and laugh with Harris and Hadley during every visit, and watching in awe at the way his big hands gently wrapped around that tiny little baby...

Good Lord, I love that man.

And I am so, so thankful for my sweet, crazy family.