My Motto

This is us. The Judds. All nine of us. This picture almost didn't happen. I had really wanted to get a new family picture ever since Joan-Claire was born. Picture day ended up being just one of those crappy days were everyone was grumpy or sad or whiny or just plain antagonistic. Frankly I just didn't have the energy to try and get everyone to pretend to be happy and smile. But, my sweet husband who loves me(but doesn't love getting his picture taken) saw my frustration and worked his magic and made it happen. Somehow everyone ended up happy and their smiles for the most part are real ones. I love looking at these pictures. I love having a small visual to represent all that we've accomplished together. All of these lives working together, to learn, to grow, to be happy, and to try and make others happy.
I never, ever in a million years would have thought that I would end up with a such a large family. To be honest I never particularly enjoyed children in my younger years. I was the oldest of six kids and felt my whole life was just one big injustice because of my big family. What did I know?! I was just a kid. Now, I am so immensely thankful for the experience, the work, the capacity to handle chaos and the capacity to love   I gained from growing up in a big family. It is such a blessing.
That is not to say that it is not hard. Oh, my! Most days I feel completely overwhelmed, not up to the task. Some days I just don't want to get out of bed. On the really bad days I just want to run away. But somewhere among all the trial and chaos of my day there is a beauty and a joy that is indescribable. We stand together on a foundation so solid that we cannot fall completely. And we built that foundation together, we continue to build it every day. Life is hard, it is for everyone, and truly it was meant to be that way. But the good news is- we can do hard things! I have adopted that as my personal motto lately. I CAN DO HARD THINGS!