the miracle of life

I have been pondering the whole process of life, lately. I know 3 people who are having babies this year, so I figured why not share!
The first friend was due on Valentines Day. It is their first baby, and she is so excited (and they will be awesome parents)! I was 10 days late with my youngest, so I know exactly what boat she is in right now (it will end, Erin...I promise!!!) I've been trying to remind her to cherish the last few moments she will have alone with her husband. To remember how it is to sleep through the night, and not have that constant fear for the life of your child. She is getting induced on Monday (assuming the little one doesn't make his/her appearance this weekend), and I wish her and her wonderful husband all the best in the world!!
The second friend is due in May. I've known her since their first baby was born - they are now onto their third. These people are all heart (and possibly a tad crazy) and they want to have six kids! Ya....I said six. I have two kids, and sometimes it feels like two too many! But I say all the power to them. If six is how many they want, then I hope they get all that their hearts desire :)
The third friend is due the beginning of June. It's kind of funny - her wedding anniversary is the day after mine, and her due date is the day (or 2 days) after my youngest was born! She is a wonderful girl, and I know that her baby will be soooo loved. This will be their first baby, and they are stoked! A friend and I went out to buy her some baby stuff on Sunday, and it made me giddy. I loved shopping for baby clothes and accessories. They are all so small and cute.
Babies are wonderful, but they change EVERYTHING. And it is crazy and hectic and stressful and scary.....but it is wonderful and amazing and unexplainable when you hold your baby in your arms, and know that it is yours, forever. It is unreal to know that this little thing will be in your life now, for all time. That nothing will ever be the same again. That you will never look at the world the same way again. To know that your outlook on everything is now altered. To know that your relationship with your spouse will never be the same. That you will discover a new and interesting way to sleep enough in 2 hours to get you through the day. To discover that you will now spend more money on your childs clothes than on your own, and they are small enough to just barely cover your foot. And to know that all of this happened due to a small little thing that would fit into a dresser drawer. It is a surreal feeling.
For the first 2-4 months that we had our oldest, I said on a daily basis "I can't believe he's mine. I feel like I am merely babysitting!" It was a crazy feeling, and I can't describe it. I was so flooded with joy and pride, yet I felt that I was just watching him.
My sons are the pride and joy of my life. I live for those two little boys. They may drive me to my wits end regularly, and make me feel like an insane asylum escapee.... but they are wonderful in a way that noone else will ever be to me. They bring me feelings that noone else will ever give me. I can be having the worst possible day, and those two can make me smile faster than anyone else ever could. They are my absolute everything. And I can't wait for my friends to experience this same feeling. I have wonderful friends, and I can't wait for them to all be filled with this euphoric feeling, this feeling that will bring laughter and tears, this feeling that will bring joy and fear, this feeling that will never go away.
Babies - nothing will ever be the same, ever again.