where do i begin?

There's entirely too much ground to cover from the last year and a half, so I'm going to sum it up. For 30 years I listened to people talk about how children change your life. Never, in a million years would I have imagined that things would change as much as they have. And, most importantly, I had never, ever imagined that I could have a love as great as this for my child.

I went through pregnancy trying to set no expectations for the little boy inside of me, but let's face it...it's nearly impossible. Eli has by far exceeded my expectations for how I envisioned him to be.

Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect. In fact, we're spending a good bit of our time right now working on hitting and throwing toys...and let me tell you, it's no fun at all. But, Eli's excitement for life and bold spirit make me smile. With his strong-willed nature, I can foresee many battles in the days to come, but I am fully trusting in the Lord's protection and guidance for Eli. My greatest desire for him is to become a man after God's own heart who will boldly proclaim His great name! The second part should be no problem at all considering he is quite possibly the loudest little boy I know.

Anyway...I'm hoping that I'll do better at keeping everyone updated on happenings in the Bachman family. Here are a few pics we've taken along our journey as parents thus far...

First picture...

Winter 2011...

We've come a long way BABY!