Monday, August 18, 2014

Counting Summers

I'm grateful for the summers. All of the summers of late night talks with my man....the one who is my best friend. All the summers going on long walks and dreaming together of "some day". The summers of watching our littles experience crawling thru grass for the first time.....learning how to walk with our hands holding theirs so tight. The summers of campfires and watching the light dance across their joy filled faces as they stuffed their mouths full of sticky marshmellow goodness. The summers of becoming brother and sisters, riding bikes, rock piles and truck covered sidewalks, endless park trips, wagon rides, helping Daddy mow, running thru the sprinkler, the 100 thousand trips to the pool, basketball games on the front drive, popsicle parties in play tents under the shade trees, Go Fish in the living room because it was too hot to play outside, playing catch with Daddy, going to the fairs, zoo trips, beach trips, family fun days, rodeos, playing at PawPaw and MeeMee's, dance parties in the kitchen in our jammies and Michigan blueberry milkshakes.
I'm grateful for the memories....the moments that fill the heart to overflowing...and remind me what I live for.
10 more summers before our first little can spread his wings and fly.....only 10 more.
Today this Mama is grateful for the here and now....determined to make every moment...every summer count. To count more stars instead of times the toilet wasn't flushed. To look deeper in their eyes instead of of looking at my phone. To pull them into my arms more often instead of filling my schedule up with everyone else in the world. To love quietly instead of getting impatient loudly. Because there's only 10 more summers before my work here is done with little number one. These babies will be ours forever, but the training grounds are only 18 summers long. Today....I will be grateful for the summers...while we walk this journey of life and the " some days" become the "remember whens."

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

These Days....

Countless times over the past couple months, I have been asked:
"How did you do it all those years having 3 babies in 4 years???!!!"
My answer?
"Coffee...my beautiful amazing Mama...coffee....chocolate...coffee...Jesus."
And today? We are still as busy as ever...but Mamas of littles....I will tell you this. It gets easier...it gets better..it's breath-taking. This journey of parenthood. It's hard, crazy, wild, messy, heart-wrenching, beautiful, mind-blowing, and the most fantastic thing ever all rolled into one.
If you can just hang on thru all the poopy diapers, temper tantrums, late night/early morning feedings, sassy pant toddler days, never ending spit up laundry days, snotty noses, paintings with booger walls, spilled/smashed/thrown/crunched/squished/tossed/smeared food particles in every nook and cranny of the house, never ending toy litter, whiny little adorable monkey business, mess your hair up/puke all over Mommy right before she is ready to leave the house stages, won't fall asleep unless you rock/bounce/coo/sing to them........it will be worth it all.
Let me tell you: that first time they put their sticky little hands on your face and look you in your eyes and tell you that you the prettiest and best Mama ever....and how much they love you? Yeah...it's a Hollywood moment...but jacked up 1,000 times.
And they reach that age where they can tell when you are having a hard day....and they wrap their dirty, sweaty, smelly arms around your muffin top waist and tell you it's all going to be ok?
It's magical....it's seriously the best drug fix you will ever need.
And these days....I'm still relying on coffee, my Mama, chocolate, and Jesus.
Because honestly? I'm pretty sure I can't live without any of them :)

The Truth

The TRUTH is this equation:

 What God thinks of me 
what Jesus did for me 

= WHO I AM.