1 year ago today...

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

Psalm 139:13-14

I think I've said all I can say about how full of joy this year has been for us. We have grown closer together as a couple, trying to raise a godly little girl without help over the past year. The first three months were definitely the toughest, and we still hadn't gotten into our routine, but we survived it. We also survived the first sickness, nights of crying, etc. But we were also blessed to witness our baby's many smiles, giggles, and even hugs. She took two tiny steps yesterday on her own. Though they were tiny, they seemed so big. She is officially becoming a toddler.

Yesterday, as we were walking home from the park, I told Jose something that I think summarizes how we feel about being parents. No, we don't have much free time; no we don't go on dates these days; no we don't even get a break when the sun sets, but we have gained far more than we've lost.

It was a sunny and beautiful day yesterday; it was the perfect kind of day to spend at the park. We didn't stay long, but we got to go down the slide with Mirabel, let her play in the sand (or eat it ;), and we even got to ride on a teeter totter with her (believe it or not, we actually fit)! Jose was on one side of the teeter totter and she was on the other side with me. To give you a visual representation of what's happened in our lives over the past year: Jose and I were only able to balance each other on the tetter totter because Mirabel was sitting on my side. Without her, we wouldn't have been able to play. She has brought completeness...

If she wasn't in our lives, we probably would've spent most of our day indoors--Jose agreed. Sure, we might've planned a quiet picnic, but the rest of the afternoon would've been spent watching a movie or reading, or even blogging ;). But instead, we spent it as a unit; one complete and content not-so-quiet family. We experienced life; I think we're experiencing it even more with this sweet girl in our lives. We're feeling the sun, sticking our toes in the sand, getting dirty, and playing like little kids all over again. And that aching feeling--the longing and the wanting--the feelings we associated with the sadness of not having Mirabel in our lives...they're gone.

And that's why I don't mind that the other less important things (like time to fix my hair ;) are gone.