Ohana

I can't express how happy and grateful I am to now have family around to not only offer support, but to simply share the excitement of having Ana. My mom was able to drive to the hospital and see Ana when she was only a few hours old. And then she took Caleb to her house for the night so Shane and I could stay at the hospital with Ana. Otherwise, Shane probably would have taken Caleb home and I would have been at the hospital by myself. And her excitement and love for Ana, her first granddaughter, makes the whole experience more meaningful for me.

Derrek and Kainoa were able to come and spend last weekend with us. This was so fantastic because if we were still in Virginia, they probably wouldn't have been able to see her until she was a few months old! I'm so grateful to know that my kids will grow up knowing them. And to know that they will know my kids. And to know that I will know their kids! One of the things that I love about having family around is that it's easier to accept help. At least for me it is. When they ask "Do you want me to load the dishwasher?" I can easily say, "Sure!" Or when they say, "We're going to cook you breakfast." I can say, "Oh! Thank you!" Otherwise, I'd be saying things like "No, you don't have to do that!" and I would feel anxious about not being a good hostess.

The only thing more I could ask for is that we lived even closer to them. It's only a 3 to 4 hour drive right now though. And maybe as Ana gets older, it'll seem like nothing. One bummer is that California has the highest average gas prices. I don't know what you guys are paying, but gas around here is about $3.10 for the cheap stuff. But, as my mom smartly noted, it's much better to pay $60 for gas than $600 for a round-trip plane ticket!