There is a quiet kind of courage in saying yes again. To anything.

After three wild-hearted boys, after years of (and ongoing) noisy mornings, several mismatched socks, randomly placed toys, countless trips to A&E, and the deep weariness only we parents know — we are opening our hearts again. Not because it’s easy. Not because we have extra time or empty arms. But because love called, and we answered.

Lord I am grateful.

Where do I begin? I never imagined myself as a mother of 4. but You knew.

After my 3rd boy the feeling I remember most was contentment. I was so thankful that God had signed off on my being a mother to 3 boys! WOW!

Now we welcome our 4th boy!

This fourth child comes not into a calm and quiet life, but into one already brimming — with laughter and chaos, with schedules, sacrifice and love. Overflowing, messy, relentless love.

In many ways, this baby is not the beginning of our story, but a deepening of it.

I remember holding my precious 3rd in my arms and being overcome with peace. As he grew older, I could sense that longing for one more child returning and at first I was very hesitant and unsure because our lives are already so full (and loud). Yet the drawing was strong. Day in and day out I would sit soaked in this desire, until I finally had the courage to mention it to my husband.

Now here we are, a few short years later and welcoming that 4th child into our family. What a miracle. I am so incredibly thankful!

We are choosing, once more, the long nights and nappy changes, the lullabies and an even larger laundry pile.

We’re choosing to be stretched again — physically, emotionally, spiritually — not because we are strong, but because God is.

It’s not lost on me that in a world that says, do less, protect your space, minimise your commitments, here we are — adding. Expanding. Risking. Opening the door wider still.

And yet, how often does God call us not into comfort, but into abundance that costs something? Into a fullness that demands faith?

This child is our yes to a bigger table. A louder house. A fuller heart. Our yes to the mystery of what God can do when we let go of control and lean into His plan, even when it defies our logic.

I think of Mary, visited by an angel, weary with questions, and still she said: Be it unto me according to your word. Not because it was safe. Not because it was simple. But because it was sacred, and she trusted God.

This, too, is sacred.

This fourth baby — known by a detailed and purposeful God — is already teaching me about surrender. About trust. About the miracle of more.

We’re not saying yes to another because we have it all together. We’re doing it because God holds it all together.

For sure there will be days ahead that stretch our patience, our finances, our capacity. But I also believe there will be grace upon grace. There will be moments of beauty in the mundane. There will be glimpses of eternity in the way he curls his hand around my finger or when a big brother whispers gentle words to him, and forms a new bond with a new soul.

Our hearts are not divided. They are multiplied.

And so, we welcome you, little one. You are not our afterthought.

With trembling hands and full hearts, we say again: yes.

I am learning that love willingly embraces the several webs of sacrifice and weaves it all together to create an image of something most beautiful.