Yesterday. 5:00pm. Tim is grilling lamb burgers in the backyard. He looks at me, smiles, “I love my life.” I look back at him, grinning, “Me too.”

The four of us sit down to eat dinner at our dining room table. Our 3-year-old prays. Our 1-year-old stands in her high chair and beams, proud of herself – then she wants to get out. For half the meal, I eat one-handed with her precariously balanced on my lap. “Can’t she sit in her seat like other 1-year-olds do?” Tim asks. But we don’t really mind.

Later that night, after baths, books, walks, and bedtimes – and LOTS of work – Tim and I lay in bed at 2am.

Our feet touching. My arms behind my head, propped up on a pillow. In the darkness, we talk about how we can be better parents. We talk wistfully about how OLD our 3-year-old is (“3 1/2!” she would say).

After a little while, we hear our 1-year-old through the monitor, waking.

“Love you,” Tim says, as I get up and begin making my way through the hall in the darkness to our baby’s room (where I will sleep beside her for the rest of the night).

“Miss you,” I say in reply.

[We often say "Miss you" to each other, even when we spend the whole day together. It kind of means, "You're a mystery and a wonder to me - and I want to know you even more intimately than I already do."]

We are happy together. When I close my eyes, I can’t think of any place I’d rather be than right here with my family. When I wake up in the morning, I can’t help but think I’m the luckiest girl in the world. Things aren’t perfect. There are tug-of-wars over toys and sticky floors and times when we all drive each other batty…but most of all? There’s a whole lotta happy.

P.S. We’re going hiking in the morning! Yay!

What are your plans for the weekend? Also – does your 1-year-old sit in his/her chair for the duration of the meal? And have you ever had lamb burgers (yum!)?