The mother of boys is the mother of men

Praise to the High One for giving me joys
Peculiarly sweet, I'm the mother of boys!
Mud puddles, torn blue jeans, toads, whistles and worms.
The furred and feathered and whatever squirms.

Black knuckles, bats, arrows and thundering noise.
They're all in a day for the mothers of boys.
But, ah, 'tis a dear joy to turn the blue eyes
To the manifold wonder of earth, sea and skies.

And, ah, 'tis a dear joy to watch a small hand seize
The hand of God in the knowledge of these.
Spare me, oh High One, to praise Thee more when
This mother of boys is the mother of men.

--author unknown

Upon hearing the news that we will indeed be adding a third boy to our family, I'll admit I had my tiny moment of disappointment (I thought my boys needed a sister). But once the news is delivered, all one can do is be happy, be thankful, and consider all the good things that will come with having three boys.

So after considering it for the past few days, here are my thoughts:

• It is now guaranteed that for at least the next five years I will continue to hear the words, "there's more bad guys, I'll get them!," and ,"watch out, the (insert any word --doesn't even have to be a real word)-asaurus is about to eat you!
• It is also guaranteed that the car noises, shooting noises, diesel truck noises, and the driving of cars up and down the walls and the halls in my house with the volume increasing ten-fold as soon as I get on the phone will not go away anytime soon. (As a girl, I will attest that girls do not come with ability to make such noises with their mouths. I've tried and my boys are not impressed--so now I will have another one who will also not be impressed, but will be born with this natural ability)
• Now that James is 5 years old and refuses to go into the women's bathroom with me, I've learned that as long as Jeff is around, this will actually be quite a bonus of having three boys. About five years from now I will never have to take any child into the bathroom when traveling or out and about. (I know, this one is really a stretch, but I HATE public bathrooms, so for me, this is good news)

I have had a couple of teary-eyed moments as well. The first came yesterday when I walked into the living room and almost stepped on this:

I know, blame it mostly on hormones, but I was just overwhelmed with how cute it was to imagine Owen lining up all the cars, each one talking to each other. It made me glad that another one is coming along to line up the cars once Owen decides he's too big for them anymore.

Mostly I have been reminded of the blessing it is and will continue to be, having three future holders of the priesthood in my home everyday for the next 18+ years. It is an awesome privilege and we're excited to welcome this little guy into our family.