Oh geez…so far behind

I am really far behind on my blog.  Now, I know that I am not going to have a ton of free time once Rives is born, so I might as well spend the next few days catching up.

I’ll start with today…not really catching up, am I?  I’ll start that tomorrow…

Mother’s Day!  What a sweet day!  I could not be happier to be a mom, especially to the two most precious girls that I know:

This is by far the most difficult thing I have ever done…being a mommy.  It is full of joy, frustration, love (mostly love), heartache, pride and exhaustion.  Most days I feel as if I have completely blown it, I have given them sufficient fuel for countless therapy sessions (and I probably have).  But they surprise me each and every morning by loving me all over again.

I am under no assumption that all of the years with my girls are going to be easy breasy…we will have our moments, but I couldn’t be happier and feel more blessed that God has allowed me to be the mother of these sweet girls!

What is CUH-RAZEE is that in less than 2 weeks I will be a Mommy to THREE kids!  Neither Matthew nor I can believe it!  Praise God that I will be going through this journey with him though…the best man in the entire world!

Here we are after lunch today, my family…it’s kind of hard to miss Rives.  And my swollen ankles and hands.  But how sweet is my family.

I received some great presents…all exactly what I wanted!  I have been wanting an iron bench for our front porch and Matthew delivered it up for me!

We went to lunch with our friends, the Walkers, and then came home for NAPS!  Although sleeping is a little bit of a joke these days!  I want to sleep but I only get a good hour before my little sleeping buddy starts moving around and interrupts my slumber-much like the next few months will be.

Yesterday Matthew and friends (Aunt Julia and Grandpa) put together our trampoline…which has been in the box since February.  More on that in a coming post…

Well, today after our naps we went outside for several hours to enjoy the GORGEOUS day.  Matthew and the girls played on the trampoline for a while and I was sad I was missing out…so I got on…get ready for a ridiculous picture of the belly.  Remember, LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM DELIVERY…and I am already measuring at 40 weeks.

Sigh. I know, it’s insane.  My favorite part is how the trampoline is practically touching the ground and my legs look 2 inches long.  Matthew told me not long after this picture was taken, “Hey, you look cute.”  Cute?  Not my adjective but glad that I still have him fooled-ha!

I love being a mom and I love my family!  I am so thankful for my mom, my mother-in-laws, grandmothers, and all the women who have influenced my life by being great moms and examples.  I pray that my girls rise up and call me blessed but mostly I pray that they see how much I love God and I know that they belong to Him first of all.

Matthew was talking with me this morning, on the way to church, about Hannah (from the Bible) and how she gave her son to God before he was even born. And then, guess what, she actually did it…she gave him to God!  I want to be as faithful as Hannah and be as faithful to God.  I know, in my heart, that Nora and Elyn (and Rives) are not actually mine…God has loaned them to me, to make me a better woman, to understand His love for me better.  If something ever happened to one of my precious children, I would be devastated, but I pray that my heart will be filled with extreme joy, knowing they are right back where they belong and were with me for the exact right amount of time.

I love my life and I love my family and I love being a mom…God has blessed me BEYOND what I ever imagined was possible!