A Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day is quickly approaching. All I hear lately is moms all over the world who wonder what their husbands will get them for Mother's Day. Seriously? Why is Mother's Day about getting a gift?

For me, Mother's Day is not about people celebrating me. Rather it is a day I use to reflect upon myself. My triumphs, my tribulations and most importantly how much I enjoy being a mom. I don't take the day off of cooking, household chores, etc. Instead I spend the day doing exactly what I enjoy...being a mommy of three little girls.

I am not a perfect mom by any means, but God has given me so many blessings and I am thankful. God allows me the opportunity to share my knowledge with my girls, be a teacher to my girls and a best friend to my girls. Mother's Day is not about what gift you will receive, but it is about the gifts from God that you have already received.

Pax

They're Here

Today is the day my life changed forever, but in a way that is too exciting to put into words! It started out as an ordinary Monday morning. Got up, stopped for breakfast and went to another appointment for fetal stress testing. The only thing missing was my hubby. He worked until 3am and for the first time skipped going to the appointment since it was at 7am. Today I found out I would be meeting my precious little angels in just a matter of hours, a month before their actual due date. I was elated.

I was taken back into the OR around 4:30pm and at 5:00 and 5:01 the twins made their first breaths into this world. They were very healthy, 6lbs, 5oz and 6lbs, 3oz. When I woke up and was taken back to my room, I finally got to meet them. I could tell immediately how different their personalities were. I began to realize that I was truly blessed to become a mother of twins.

Baby Showers

I was asked to co-host a baby shower recently. Yikes! I love baby showers. I think they are a blast, but they are also a little bittersweet for me. After having 5 children, I can honestly say I have only had 1 baby shower that I threw for myself. This was when I was pregnant with the twins. Not one person in my family, my husband's family, or any of the friends I have hosted showers for in the past could throw a shower for me. I find it a little sad. To me, a baby shower is all about celebrating a new life coming into the world. After throwing my own shower, it reaffirmed for me that my husband and I were the only ones who were excited about welcoming not one, but two new lives into our family. The people who attended refused to play any games and made comment after comment when I was opening my gifts because an aunt and two cousins of mine decided to go baby shopping happy. It made me feel that everyone was only there for the free food. As soon as we ate, most of my guests left, but asked if I could save them some cake and they could pick it up from my house later that evening.

I guess what I am trying to say today is: Ladies, please remember this when you attend future baby showers. Every expectant mom, no matter how many children she has, really just wants one day to feel that others are excited for her as well.

Seriously? Seriously

Four years ago a naive couple went in for an ultrasound. It was a beautiful spring Saturday morning. Unaware of the news awaiting us behind those closed doors we were discussing baby names and some of the hopes and dreams we already had in store for our little one. Finally it was our turn. After some small talk with the technician it was finally time to learn the gender. Bam! We were then hit wth the news that we were having twins! We were both in shock and did not know how to react. The technician told us that the babies seemed to be healthy and looked to be girls. However, she also told me this threw me into the high-risk pool, so I needed to slow down and take it easy.

We left the office feeling very humbled. It's not everyday that you find out you are not only going to be responsible for taking care of two lives growing inside of you. From that point on, we knew that changes had to be made. The hardest change for me was resigning my management position. I loved my job. I loved working 60 hour weeks. Most importantly, I loved the people I worked with. I went from having a life to living life as a hermit.

God had a plan for us. Although we had no idea what He was thinking, we knew we had to trust in Him. This was His will and His gift to us.

Fairy Tales

Fairy tales.....I knew them from little on. I wanted it all. The white horse, the prince who would rescue me from the tower so we could live "happily ever after". It now seems so long ago. What happened to me? Where did I go wrong? Where is my happy ending?

I never imagined I would become a Domestic Goddess, wife and mother. I never thought this is what I wanted until it happened. Becoming a mom is scary. You carry your child for nine months and worry each and every day that you are doing everything right. What foods to eat, how much weight to gain, taking your prenatal vitamins, going to every visit at the ob's office, picking out the right layette, having the perfect nursery, and so forth. Then d-day arrives. This is the day you have been waiting for the past nine months. You are flooded with all kinds of emotions...excitement, nervousness and the realization that life as you once knew it was over.
Once you hold that precious little bundle in your arms you are taken into a new land of fairy tales.