reflections on Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!! Today was a great day spent with family, loving my boys, and eating yummy food cooked up by my AMAZING hubby.

A bit of reflection though...on this day 5 years ago, I was enduring a VERY painful Mother's Day, having just miscarried our first baby 6 days before. The year following found us not pregnant, and feeling pretty hopeless about the whole situation. I remember that being a very painful day, even in the midst of celebrating my mom and mother-in-law. The NEXT year, however, found me VERY pregnant with Jayden.

What a difference a year makes huh?

Every year since has found my life full of my little one(s). Funny thought, by the NEXT Mother's Day, I was ginormously pregnant AGAIN and on bedrest due to pre-term labor. Dan made me a wonderful photo montage video of our journey together and we played with Jayden all day.

And these last two have been filled with time with my little ones and celebrating our moms.

I never want to forget, though, the pain of those early Mother's Days where I cried so much. Cause there are so many women still walking that road. I looked around at church today, wondering how many of the childless women don't want to be that way, and what kind of hurt they were carrying to church this Mother's Day. Its good, though, cause it reminds me to pray for them, and to hurt with them, and to be sensitive to where they are at.

But, also, it does make me SO thankful that God met the desire of our hearts to be parents. Not only did we have Jayden but also Eli. Kind of felt like a two-for-one deal. Hee hee. They are SUCH a blessing and I am so grateful to be their mommy. So, on that note, here are some shots of THIS Mother's Day.

Me with MY Mommy and my brother

Sweet Jayden boy

The whole fam

Me and my boys