The Bluebird Patch

The most meaningful testimonies are when people say that it was a vision of the sovereignty and goodness of God that got them through the most difficult times of their life. Here is one of those testimonies. This story and so personal. So delicate. So easily abused. So unfinished. Love Ian and Larissa as you watch this amazing story. Pray for them. And us. Much more of this couple at http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-story-of-ian-larissa

Conventional wisdom dictates that people become parents because children bring joy. But do they really? For scientists studying the subject, simply correlating parenthood and happiness can't answer this question, since happy people might be more likely to have kids to begin with. But a recent study that compared happiness levels in adult identical twins--some of whom are parents and some who aren't--may be getting to the bottom of the issue. In a study, headed by sociology professor Hans-Peter Kohler of the University of Pennsylvania, found that people with children are, in fact, happier than those without children. But such happiness gains differ for mothers and fathers. In comparing identical twins, Kohler found that mothers with one child are about 20 percent happier than their childless counterparts; and while fathers' happiness gains are smaller, men enjoy an almost 75 percent larger happiness boost from a firstborn son than from a firstborn daughter....