THE EASTERN PINE

My Dress, Target, last seen HERE | Tessa’s Dress HERE

Mother’s Day is such a special day in my heart.  In the photos above, you will see me with my sister and mom.  My sister has two beautiful children, Leighton and Pierson, and is a wonderful mother an inspiring business owner.  She and I are truly blessed to have such a caring and sweet person for our Mother.  She supports our dreams, and loves us unconditionally, something I want to emulate in my relationship with my daughter and son one day.  She is a wonderful wife and fun-loving Mimi to her grandkids.  I just have so many fun memories with her growing up.  She let us be kids, have fun, get dirty outside, build forts all over the house, most of the time joining in!  I think she has shown me how to make even the small things fun.  Sometimes, it’s the little things that make me appreciate my mom.  Like somehow, in the business of life, she always answers the phone and lends a listening ear to whatever it is I need to talk about that day.  She is there for me at any hour, day or night, to help me when I need it.  I remember one specific instance when I was pregnant with Tessa, I needed a room painted a very specific greenish-blue, but, being pregnant, I couldn’t paint it myself.   My mom willingly painted the room…..3…different….times, per my “nesting” request, without a complaint…only a true smile that I was happy when we finally got it right.  I will never forget that.  That is just one example of the many things this amazing woman has done for me.  Thank you for giving me life and continually loving me as I grow.  I love you Mom.

Now having children of my own that I love unconditionally, I begin to see what that love is like.  It is an amazing fierce love that is hard to explain until you experience it for yourself.  I feel like I would do anything for them, and love them like crazy, but at the same time, sometimes they drive me nuts!  As a mom of toddlers, right now life is filled with diapers, goldfish, Daniel Tiger, trains, baby dolls, snacks, and feels like it is so busy.  Some days, I feel as though I go from meeting one need to another, l like I am merely a maid, snack provider, car sear clicker, favorite lost toy detective, or diaper changer.   It can get overwhelming and has overwhelmed me at times, but the more mom’s I talk to the more I realize that I’m not alone and that this is what motherhood is like at this stage.  I look around me at mothers of all ages and sometimes I smile thinking that each and every one of them had this kind of life at one point.  Call it a right of passage.  But once you are past toddler life, you are past it, and I know I will miss it!  One day, I will look at those young moms struggling with their toddlers and think of how my grown mature children were once so simple and innocent.  It’s easy to say all this while they are sweetly tucked away in their beds 🙂

I also want to mention my amazing Mother in Law, Beth.  She is the mother of my husband, Ben.  She has two wonderful sons, and is the Gramby to my little ones.  Though I didn’t meet her until my early twenties, I feel like I have known her forever.  She embodies so many qualities that I admire, and constantly shows our family love and support anytime, day or night.  She loves our children in such a special way and always takes the time to listen to them and teach them about God and his will for their lives.  They are truly blessed and will be better people for knowing her.   I love that my husband has such an amazing mother, and I simply can’t thank her enough for raising such an great man to be my husband.  I love you Beth.