Motherhood

Can you believe that tomorrow I'll be celebrating
my 4th Mother's Day?! Amazing!

In 2006, just 2 wks + 2 days after discovering our first pregnancy, I got to celebrate Mother's Day! (I realize some people would think I wasn't actually a mom, since I didn't have a baby I could hold. However, we believe that from conception a baby is alive; a real person; fashioned by God who has a plan and purpose for each one of us. So whether any of you female readers have an interior baby or an exterior baby, I encourage you to celebrate your motherhood this Mother's Day! And if you're waiting and hoping for a child, continue to pray!) On that Mother's Day, I remember I certainly wasn't 'showing', but felt so proud to be in this new league--to be a mother. And I remember dining out on Mexican food---I had a new excuse to eat and eat and eat!

I remember my first pregnancy test. I remember showing the results to my husband. I remember my husband holding me as I solemnly said, "Our lives are going to be changed forever." We were both thrilled and nervous and goofy with excitement, and I know I was certainly beaming! I was just so completely freak-out happy!

I remember our ultrasound that revealed we were expecting a daughter! I remember Chris holding my hand and warm tears running down my cheek as we realized we weren't just watching "a baby", we were seeing "Kyleigh"

This is our first family photo! I loved the birth, I loved the whole process! Especially the pushing part--truly! Labor sort of happens to you, not much you can do about it. But pushing is where moms get to be proactive in meeting their children! I remember being in awe. I expected to be in awe, but the occasion was more than that. More than words can define. Once again that feeling struck me, "Our lives are going to be changed forever." And since we met Kyleigh December 30, 2006, we've never looked back!

My 2nd Mother's Day ('07) was my first with an 'exterior baby' to hold, and I loved telling Kyleigh over and over how humbled I felt to be chosen as her mother and how much I'll love her forever! It was also an extra-special day in my family because my adopted baby sister was born that week & got to go home with my parents on Mother's Day weekend! Chris, Kyleigh, and I went to visit, and it was such an amazing time! How special to see my parents doting over this newborn girl, praying with her before she rested at bedtime, and of course I enjoyed Moriah's snuggles too! (She turned 2 this week, and we're sad to miss the party today due to Kyleigh's little cold. Luv you MoMo!)
(And Happy Mother's Day, Mom-o...hope your gifts arrive today!)








In the fall of '07 I took my second pregnancy test--another "Positive" discovery! I was once again freak-out happy! So last year ('08) was my 3rd Mother's Day and I was VERY pregnant! I realize that pregnancy isn't really measured in degrees...you either are or you aren't...but if it were measured that way, I would officially have been VERY pregnant! Haha! We were about 35 weeks into our journey as parents to Josiah, anxiously awaiting the day we'd meet our son, Kyleigh's brother. (We also went out to eat that day at a hibachi grill. That far along, it's not like I was worried about weight gain!)











I remember the day we learned we were harboring a son in my womb. It felt exciting to find out we'd be parenting a different gender child than our first, and that day I knew "Our lives are going to be changed forever." Ha! Oh so true! Nothing about our lives has been the same since Josiah joined us on June 18, 2008--

and I wouldn't trade a single moment of it!

So this weekend I'll celebrate my 4th Mother's Day, and I feel so blessed. I'm abundantly loved by my family and appreciated for my role as a mommy, and I feel honored to be a part of this fantastic journey with my hubby & kids!

Happy Mother's Day!