The Ellis Family.

After the baby Milo's blessing, family gathered in and out of Ann Dee's home. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I love hearing the hum of voices, ones that have known each other for ages. Maybe it's the familiarity they have with each other and it's comforting to know that there are people and gatherings just like my family has, millions and millions of them, everywhere, all the time. That's a lot of love!

And the last few photos are in front of the "monster wall" she has in her house. Ann Dee Ellis is a published author and she has her boys sit and create different monsters each day so that she has a little free time to write! In their minds, they really ARE the monsters that they are acting like!

Late Afternoon at the Burkman's...

It's amazing, to walk into a house and see parents loving their babies just as much as I love mine! It opens my eyes, makes me reverent. These children, so precious in the eyes of their parents. Only we know our own little ones so well.

Anticipation.

Celeste is pregnant with her third boy, and she still wrestles the older two if she has to.

I always think it's so strange when I go to friend's houses that have boys. What usually happens is I sit on the floor and their gaze suddenly turns to me, they run full speed toward me and try to wrestle me. One friend told me flat out, "I don't sit on the floor at my house, it's an open invitation!" I love boys. In my house, if I sit on the floor, my girls hang on me like seaweed and whine like an old timing belt.