abel, lucy + those sunsets... times two.

i get to mother these two.

it's incredible + challenging, and i can't believe they're mine.

some days i'm waiting on 5 o'clock, or nap time, or a drive somewhere so that i can regain sanity for ten minutes, have my hands free, or enjoy a starbucks and share with no one... that's some truth right there. more often than not though, i am the happiest happy camper you ever did see.

i told chris the other day that parenting is hard, and not for all the reasons "they" told you it would be. sure, i'd love to sleep through the night again someday, or stroll anthropologie without a meltdown or my stroller bumping into things, but it's not hard for those types of reasons... it's hard for all of the other reasons. we are raising people... the next generation, and at the same time, we are watching our legacy unfold all too quickly before our eyes. i mean, lucy is already 7 months you guys... where's that bottle i always talk about?? you know, the one big enough to store + save all the moments, and smells, and hugs, and giggles...

it's walking around with your heart outside of your body, worrying (trying not to) about things you never even considered before being a parent. it's time outs + hugs + dance parties in the living room... diaper changing, boo boo kissing, teaching them to be kind, and constantly picking up toys... and one day i know that parenting will look very different, and that they'll need me in a whole new way, and i them.

it's life filling and heart breaking and joy giving, and so much more, and as i put lucy to bed the other night it hit me... i was chosen. God entrusted ME with their lives. to love and protect their beautiful spirits and raise them up. i do not feel worthy, but am grateful that it's not up to me. it was up to Him, and he chose me. thank you.

+ now...

abel at 3 months shy of two and a half- mr. marks-a-lot, i guess it could have been the walls...