First day of school!

Today was the first day of school for the boys.  Man, summer went by fast!  I wasn’t ready for my boys to head back, but the day was upon us so we took some pictures and off we went!  Jack has Mrs. Regina in the fours, five days, 9-12, and Sam has Mrs. Emily in the twos, three days, 9-12. We were all so thankful to have Mark with us for the first day drop-off!

Sam did so great!  He walked in and thought about walking out for two seconds.  Once he saw the toys, he walked right over and barely looked back!  He had a great day!Jack, on the other hand, well that didn’t go so well.  Mrs. Regina had to literally pry him off of me, him in tears and me fighting them back.  As soon as Mark and I walked out, mine started falling.  The good news, he got a great report!  They said he had a great day, and he was super happy when I picked him up!  Yay, yay!

Boys, be on your best behavior, make new friends, listen to your teachers, remember your manners, and always remember how much daddy and I love you!  And God loves you even more!  Even when we’re not with you, He is! 

I know it’s going to be a great year for these two!

I love them.

I’m so grateful to be their mamma!  And I’m thankful to Mark for these hilarious pictures on Mother’s Day!  He was telling them a pretty silly story and I was snapping away.  They love him to pieces and think he hung the moon.  Me too, boys!Our first born, who made me a mamma.And our second born-I’m so blessed!What they mostly looked like,and a few winners!Boys,  I’m so thankful to be a mom, and more importantly, your mom.  This is what I’ve always dreamed of!  Our family is my dream come true!  No, it’s not always easy, and I’m far from a perfect mom, but God chose me as the perfect mom for you.  With His daily grace and strength and patience, that’s what I’ll always try to be.  I’m so thankful you love me and forgive me when I fail.  Each day I learn so much from you.  You bring the biggest smile to my face and more joy to my heart than I can believe.  I just want to eat you up!!  I love you boys more than words can say!  Mamma

Brothers

I uploaded all my Instagram pictures tonight and remembered this one.  It’s one of my very favorite pictures of the two of them.Jack and Sam, I pray that you would always take care of each other, have so much fun together, and know that daddy and I think you’re two of the neatest people around.  Love you boys.  More than words can say.

On being their mom

I get all mushy when I think about being able to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mamma.  Wow-what a blessing our children are!  I learn so much from them and am so thankful for this calling unlike any other!  My boys-all three of them!-make me want to be more intentional, more present, more loving, more patient, just a better me for them.  I love them so much. One of my favorite bloggers wrote about motherhood here, and I just love everything she had to say.  She said, “I have discovered that motherhood joy is most often found in the small moments. Not the monumental ones.”  Boys, I love all the small moments with you.  You bring me a joy I can’t put into words. She also mentioned this quote, and I LOVE it.  I’m so blessed by the interruptions these boys bring.

INTERRUPTIONS
"When you are exasperated by interruptions, try to remember that their very frequency may indicate the value of your life. Only people who are full of help and strength are burdened by other persons' needs. The interruptions which we chafe at are the credentials of our indispensability. The greatest condemnation that anybody could incur - and it is a danger to guard against - is to be so independent, so unhelpful, that nobody ever interrupts us, and we are left comfortably alone."
-Anonymous
from The Anglican Digest

And because Shawni really does say it best and writes so beautifully exactly what I’d like to say, “In my mind there is nothing quite so good as to be a Mother…the one who is interrupted the most. And I must cherish those moments of interruptions while they last. Because before I know it these children will grow up and leave off to create their own stories, and I'll be left with just the memories of all those life-enriching interruptions echoing through my house.”

Jack and Sam, and all my babies-I love you, I love you, I love you.  Being your mamma fills my heart in amazing ways.  Of course at times it’s a hard job, but it’s the best job in the world and I’m beyond grateful that God chose me for you!

My boys

Words escape me when I try to write how thankful I am for these three.  I sure don’t deserve them, but I’m so glad they’re mine!  My heart could just burst looking at this picture!And this one-gah!  Love that daddy loving on that boy!

all photos by Jordan

Eight Months Old

Our sweet little one, you’re eight months old!  I just got used to the idea that you were seven months old-and then I blinked. One difference between this month and last is that you’re a crawler now.  And not your regular crawl.  It was a head-dive-and-then-push-with-your-legs kind of crawl, but now you’ve adopted the army man crawl.  We love it!If we so much as look at you or call your name, your face lights up and you do a really excited giggle.  It’s infectious.  (Note to self-get that on video again!!)One of my favorite things I get to do as your mommy is check on you (and your brother) before I go to bed.  I check on Jack first, and he’s always (usually) tucked in just how I left him with his arms up and his lovies under his head.  I stare at him a minute and remember all the funny, sweet things he did and said that day (my heart about to burst!!), thank God for him, give him a kiss, and then make my way to your nursery.  I usually find you scooted way up to the top corner of your crib without your blanket on-not how I left you.  So I cover you up to make sure you’re warm and lean over to thank God for you and give you a kiss.  You stir a bit, and I secretly wish you would wake so I could cuddle you back to sleep.  Although I’m so very thankful for your wonderful sleeping habits, I do think about those early days when I’d cuddle you in the rocker, just a little longer, after you finished nursing in the wee hours of the morning.  Oh, how precious!Needless to say, I head to bed with a full heart.  You boys are such a blessing to your daddy and me!  I can only imagine what it’ll be like when you and Jack share a room.  I’ll probably stand at the door and hear some pretty fun things after I think you’ve both gone to bed, and then when I come back to check on you and see our two boys sleeping side by side-be still my heart!Sammers, you are a true joy-to your daddy, to your big brother, and to me.  You make our smiles bigger every day!  God is so good!

We love you to pieces!
Daddy and Mommy

Happy Mother’s Day!

To the best mama a girl could ask for!  Now that I’m so blessed to be a mom, I totally understand the fierceness of a mother’s love.  How grateful the three of us are to be on the receiving end of that from you!  Thanks for loving us (and our babies!) more than we even know.  I love you, my mama! Happy Mother’s Day, Mrs. Thomas!  We hope you’re having a great Mother’s Day in France, and we look forward to celebrating when you get home!Happy Mother’s Day, sees!  I know Kendall is a thankful little lady to have you as her mama! And to my super sweet boys-you and your daddy made my Mother’s Day (and every day!) a wonderful one!!  I’ve always dreamt of being a mom, but the joys the two of you bring have far exceeded even my wildest dreams!  I love you both more than words can say (why am I not a better writer!)!!  I feel so blessed to be your mama.  I’ll never be able to tell you how honored I am to kiss your boo-boos and hear you say it’s “all better”, rock you and listen to your sweet baby sounds, watch you have a-ha moment after a-ha moment, and see a gummy grin spread across your face just because we caught eyes.  Thanks for showing me how fun it is to live in the moment and enjoy all the little things!  (Sam’s in the shadow picture, too!  See his little elbow poking out under mine and the edge of his leg at my right side?  I don’t want future-Sam to think we left him at home for our Mother’s Day walk!)