The final member of our family

Hey Mike,

Remember how before we even got married we both dreamed of having a boat for our family one day? And how we saved and saved and worked our butts off to buy one?  How we drove down the freeway and our hearts ached while we watched other people towing their boats?

All the "one day we'll...." trips we have planned.  The years and years we spent bumming rides on other people's boats and looked at each other with that look--the "we have to have our own boat" look.

How time and time again one thing or another, or one newborn or another, seemed to eat away at the "boat fund".  (Those babies definitely ate away at the boat fund...)

And how when we finally, finally were ready to buy one and for one reason or another, each boat we thought was ours slipped through our fingertips.

We have big dreams for our family.  We worked hard.  We sacrificed.  We made a goal.  And then we talked about it as if there was no question it was going to happen.  "When we have a boat" not "If we get a boat".

And now.  Now the longings are over.  And the lake is calling.  And we get to spend hours and hours and hours trapped in a small space with our four kids.  And bonding will happen unlike it happens anywhere else.

Because there's something magical about the lake.  And being together in such a confined space.  With the single motive of bonding a family together with love and fun!

I'm proud of us.  I'm proud of you.

And I can't wait to make this newest member of our family (it's the "kid" we've always known needed to be a part of our family) part of our family story.

We did it!

Love,
Me

{Note to readers:  No we are not trying to keep up with the Jones's.  A boat isn't about what people think of us.  It's a means to an end for our family.  Annnnd it happens to bring more joy to my husband's face than anything else on God's earth.  And being on the lake with him is about as close to heaven as I'll ever get while in a mortal body.  And it brings joy to our family.  So we will boat.  And use it to bond our family together.  And use it for the good and blessing of others as well.  

And will most assuredly have plenty of days where the boat breaks down in the middle of a sweltering summer day with four crying kids, no drinking water, and a sudden infestation of mosquitoes.  Then maybe it won't be so magical.  But still worth it.

My dad used to say "When you can take a $100 dollar bill and flush it down the toilet every day for a month, then you're ready to buy a boat."
It's one of the few things my dad has said I have chosen to ignore.  :)
Bring on the lake!!!!}