Owen is THREE!

When Owen was born on April 16, 2006, I made a decision to move back to Illinois from Southern California. It's funny when you 'make a decision' to do something big like move 2,000 miles away, how easy it seems to be. It's easy because a decision has been made and what follows is simply 'activities' that allow it to happen. The decision process only seems difficult because it's scary. The mind sometimes weighs the pros and the cons until the face is blue. All those what-ifs and hows can cause quite a lot of stressful sleepless nights, until the decision has been made. Then it becomes a process of steps that must be taken to achieve the goal of 'getting there.'

Owen was four months old when I 'got here.' It took my taxman another 4 months to complete the sale of the California house and 'get here too.' Things pretty much fell into place, one after the other. Oh don't get me wrong, there were ups and downs, emotional turmoil, more decisions, but eventually we arrived in our Midwest home where we are now. California is now a place we visit and this is home. Home can change drastically depending on the circumstances.

The pictures above are why we came back to this home. This child is our first grandchild - a boy. We raised girls, so watching this child grow is very different. He runs and chases things. He pretends things are chasing him - like these balloons. He glows with joy from his silliness. Our daughters used to carry around dolls (even to restaurants); they never ran around in a public place like this. This was the tail end of a perfectly joy-filled evening celebrating Owen's third birthday. The restaurant staff sang to him and he smiled and ate an ice cream sundae that they provided.

Today I am so very thankful for this child, his joy, and my decision in 2006 to pick up and move closer to them all. Decisions are easy, it's the activities to make dreams come true that are hard work.