Baby Jake has arrived

Gabe and Heather's first baby, Jacob, arrived last night! Picture to follow later today.

Although I have 4 siblings, I have hardly any extended family, so I'm thrilled my children have such a large family.

Baby Jake is #9 on the Dobra side and there are 15 grand kids on the Goodale side. Lots of cousins, aunts and uncles for Alex and Jami.

My dad is an only child and my mom only has 1 brother who lives out of state. I have 3 first cousins that I've only seen maybe 5 times in my life.

Grandparents lived out of state, as well.

Family and the whole multi-generational family experience is why we reside in good ol' Peoria, Illinois, even though Jeff's job would allow us to live in much more desirable climates.

However, when I feel grumpy about gloomy winter weather, "family-schmamily" are where my thoughts run. (!!)