Repairman: All those kids yours mister, or is this a picnic?
Frank Gilbreth: They’re all mine and believe me, it’s no picnic!
— Cheaper by the Dozen

Having children has been the hardest, stinkiest, stickiest, most expensive thing I’ve ever done.  I’ve been yelled at, secreted upon, spit-up on, and woken at all hours of the night.  I’ve given up hobbies, put off vacations indefinitely, and changed careers because of the kids.  I’ve watched the woman I love cry over them, and occasionally I join her.

In the end, though, I can’t imagine life without those times.  With them come the little hands patting my face and tugging on my hair.  They come with gap-toothed smiles and giggles.  They come with first steps, first words, first teeth, and first bicycle rides.  They come with rediscovery of the world from the perspective of a child.  And they come with a home that’s built, not for kids, not for adults, but for all of us.