One year ago, today (Dec 17th), our family of four exploded into a family of seven. In one fell swoop, we added three additional young ones to the fold.

• I became a father of five
• Tracey became a mother of five
• Samantha suddenly had two younger sisters and brothers
• Bethany suddenly had two younger sisters and brothers
• The F150 turned into an E350
• All the bedrooms were populated
• The brief moment of more toilets than necessary returned to dreamland

I’d be dishonest if I were to say that there were not day’s when I seriously wondered what I had gotten myself into, perhaps even considering any possible options to get out of it. However, that being said, it has been a fantastic experience! Many moments in the past year have been utterly sublime:

• Watching Ethan sleep in the crook of Tracey’s arm.
• Collin getting out of daycare and running to hug me, the whole while hollering, “I was good at school today dad!”
• Abby, blinking both eyes when you wink at her or otherwise comment on how pretty her eyes are.
• Collin doing a flip off the side into the pool, after overcoming a paralyzing fear of the water to begin with.
• Abby dressing up as a princess and dancing through the house
• Ethan, just last night, pointing to and feeling of my nose, eyes, ears, hair and mouth – while naming them

I’ve lived a broad life. I’ve experienced things that others continue to shake their heads in disbelief at. I’m often accused of being Larger Than Life. I have saved men’s lives, I’ve lead others to victories they didn’t believe they could achieve, I’ve achieved things no one would have considered me a contender for.

Yet it all pales in comparison to this. The Good Lord has entrusted five precious souls to me, and I see nothing that I have done which would compel Him to do so. All five of my children are so wondrous in their growth and surprising in their insights. Who would have thought, Beth, of all people, would have such a passion for playing …. the Tuba!? Samantha brought home a young man that she is inclined to pursue a romantic relationship with – and I approved of her choice! I was so looking forward to running someone off too!

There was time, a while back, when I would use this time to “take stock” of the past year, consider my conquests and victories, and begin determining the goals and developing the strategies that would see me succeed next year. Tallying up the goals accomplished, boxes to be ticked off, boiling it all down to the expect raise and bonus for the next year. It leaves a stale taste in my mouth to admit it – but I’ve never been one to hide from the truth.

I’ve read another of posts the past few days with regards to reviewing 2008. Not that I’ve ever been easily impressed, but I wasn’t. I thought to myself, “I can write a better review than that.” So I considered what to write, how to articulate it, and ultimately sum it up. Here’s what I came up with:

God blessed me with a wonderful wife and five fantastic kids that I can’t find reason to say I deserve – and they love me through 2008. Nothing else compares this and I can’t even claim to have caused it to happen; yet it did. Thank you Lord.