Being a Mom

I became a mom 9 yrs ago and it was the most amazing, life-changing thing I have ever gone through. I've mentioned this before, but I got to meet my little girl for the first time several hours after she was born. I had to be put to sleep, so I didn't get to see her when she came out. The first memory I have as I was waking up was of one of the nurses whispering in my ear "You had a girl.". :-) I have no idea what time that was, but I didn't wake up for very long at that point. Long enough for them to wheel my down to my room and for a quick peek through the nursery window, but that was it. Pete brought her down to me (or was it the nurse?) sometime around 8 that morning. I had her at 1am. As she was wheeled in I immediately knew she was mine. She looked just like me! When I held her for the first time, it was like a dream. I've wanted to be a mom for as long as I could remember. But, it wasn't until I was in NY, working with the sweetest kids ever that it became a real desire. So, when we found out we were pregnant, it was a surprise, but a welcome one. She was a joy to us and my life as a mom began. As many will attest to, I didn't want to let her out of my arms. I just loved to hold her and love her and snuggle. I didn't want to be parted from her, even for a minute. My life was just happier when she was with me.


This is Madie when she was a little over a year old. I knew right after I had her, that I wanted another one. And, it was only a couple months after we moved into our home that I found out that Noah was coming along. I was thrilled! Not so much thrilled about the morning sickness, but soooo excited to know we were going to have another baby. We were given the choice to pick which day we wanted to have him on, because I was going in for another c-section, so we picked Valentine's Day. I had a feeling all along that he was a boy. He was just so active compared to Madie. And, as soon as he was born, they announced we had a boy and Pete and I were just beyond excited! He was my biggest and just the cuddliest little thing you could find. Always wanted to hug and love on us. He was my boy. My beautiful, sweet son. And, you'd think that with a second I wouldn't be quite as overprotective, but I was. It wasn't so much overprotective as it was I just loved them so much that I didn't want to be away from them. Just enjoyed being with them.




Look at that cutie!! He was just 1 in that picture and such a silly little guy even then. He and Madie became inseparable and the best of friends. We debated for a little while on whether or not to have more. That decision was made pretty easy when we discovered, quite to our surprise, that we were expecting again. We found that out Mother's Day morning of '05. So, at the end of December we welcomed our last child to our family. I am so glad we had her, because she has completed our family perfectly. She was our smallest at just 6 lbs but so full of spirit! She's got personality and imagination coming from her at full speed.




Of all my kids, her personality is most like mine. She's funny and outgoing and loves to be places and doing things. And, I've had the complete joy of spending the last couple of years with her while the other two kids have been at school. We've had a super-fun time together and I'm eating it all up, because soon she'll be joining them in school.

I've been blessed to be a mom for nearly a decade and each child I have I've loved since I first knew they were growing inside of me. It has changed my life in more ways than I can count and can't imagine my life without them. They've each brought wonderful things into my life and I am so, so thankful that God answered my prayers and let me be a mom to these three amazing kids. So, Mother's Day to me isn't just a day where I get thanked by my kids. That's nice, of course, but for me, it's a time to reflect on what I've been given. I've been given the gift of love from three amazing kids. Been given the gift of watching them grow, instructing them, and celebrating them. I don't need the "thank yous", because I am the one that's thankful.