Gotcha Gotcha Gotcha

We'll still celebrate each of our kids' "Gotcha Days" on the anniversary of the date they arrived into our families.  But, we've consolidated a bigger, family-wide Gotcha Day on July 4.  It's roughly the average point in the year across the three kids.  And, it reminds us that we are an all-American family - literally, since I was born in the US, while Jada and Aaron, though born outside the US, are now naturalized citizens and can technically run for president someday. 

With sleepaway camps impending, we celebrated a couple of days early, and didn't do anything too crazy.  Actually, it felt like a somewhat normal Saturday, in that we went to a Y to swim, puttered around a nearby Target, and ended up at a Chinese buffet.  Allowing the kids some spending money at Target was a rare treat for them, and everyone was happy with their bounty - Jada and Aaron some long-coveted books that I'd previously been too stingy to let them splurge on, and Asher a Good Dinosaur car that won out over the two other items we put in front of him in the toy aisle.

The best part of Gotcha Day, though, was even more low-key.  When we got home, we all collapsed right inside our front door, and soon it was a sea of wriggly kids and wet kisses.  Amy and I have built our family in unusual ways, and there has been a lot of heartbreak and tears along the way, but we are richly blessed and deeply thankful for our three kids.