And in the end

When I started Cream of Potato Soup in July of 2001, I was 24 years old. Mike and I hadn't been married for a whole year yet, and we were excited and terrified when we found out we were expecting our first child. We had already suffered through a miscarriage a few months earlier and had no idea what to expect. Now I'm nearly 33, a stay at home mom with a 7 year old son who loves weather and computers and maps, and a 3 year old son who goes wild for rock music and motorcycles. Mike and I will celebrate 9 years of marriage at the end of the summer, and we're still really happy together.

The purpose of this blog was just to keep our families updated as our pregnancy progressed--it became a vital lifeline when Evan was born 2 1/2 months early and we needed to inform everyone during his hospital stay. It became a way to vent frustrations during Ev's long years of developmental delays, share our sadness over another pregnancy loss, speak about our worries over having another child. We got support from other parents, comments from old and new friends, and got to share all the joys that came with raising our two boys.

But after eight years, I'm ready to close this book. It's been wonderful to write about the boys and their first years, but now I think it's the right time to move on. I don't know what the future holds for our family, but I am certain that it will include a lot of happiness and challenges, just as these last few years have. I want to thank Mike for having the idea to start this blog, for doing all the behind the scenes work, and for being my partner in crime and parenting for so many years. I also want to thank my very favorite moms who blog: Eden, Julie, Lora, and Trish. These women have been great support and inspiration to me over the years, and though I've only met two of them in real life, I've valued their advice and friendship, and have loved reading their blogs. And of course I have to thank Evan and Grady. They have changed me in ways I never believed were possible, and I am so thankful that I get to be their mother.

So I'll say goodbye for now, but I'm sure you'll see me around. It's amazing what came out of an offhanded comment Mike made about me being dizzy when I got out of bed one morning. Thanks for reading.