500th post !

This week we reached our 500th blog post. In March it will be 6 years- 6 eventful, crazy, years since we started this blog. We started posting in Provo when it was just the 2 of us and life was ridiculously simple. 

Over the 500 posts this blog has given me reason to reflect, to put my thoughts to words, to take pictures, and a chance to laugh, over and over, again at my kids.  Writing an occasional post gives me an excuse to think. It gives me an outlet to communicate ideas and unload my mind.

This blog  is a journal.  Yes, I do my share of bragging about my kids, but that's not the point. I don't link it on facebook, even some of my closest friends don't know about it, and I like it that way.  It's not that it's exclusive, I just don't want to worry about photo-shopping or censoring my writing. I want this blog to be a place where I am myself and a place that feels authentically Firthy. 

 I feel like in my kids, in my family, I have a wonderful gift - a gift that lives thousands of miles from their friends and family. This blog allows me to do a little less hoarding their cuteness and dynamic personalities and gives me an opportunity to share them with people they love.

As I have looked back on our 500 posts I have laughed a lot. There have been lots of goofy moments, lots of fun days, and many nostalgic memories that if I could revisit and soak in again, I would. Mixed in the posts there are a few hard times, a few embarrassing posts I would rescind (my Sarah Palin endorsement and a few gloriously pregnant pics,) but they've always been outnumbered with good times that I treasure-  and I'd say that pretty much sums up my life. 

 In the past 500 posts we've all grown a lot. Some of us have gotten taller, all of us have gotten smarter. Brady and I have gone from newlyweds to seasoned parents. Brady went from undergrad, to masters, to (almost a )Phd.  I've spent many a satisfying day enjoying mothering with walks to the park, and snuggling up with my kids and a good book. Liam has gone from a little baby with spiky black hair to a a curious, gregarious, kindergartner.  Elsie has gone from crawling to riding a scooter while singing about dragons.

I can predict some of the the next 500 posts, but for most of them, like most of life, we'll just have to wait and see . . .