Good Times

       My best friend's husband had this crazy idea to go camping for Memorial Day...camping wasn't the crazy part, it's the fact that they have three kids and I have two ;) But, we're crazy people so we did it. We loaded 'em up and headed to Tannehill State Park. The kids had a tremendous amount of fun, pretty much acting like hellions (which is allowed if there isn't anything breakable around). The bestie and I stayed up late, talking and sitting around our beautiful self maintained camp fire (meaning Joey built it, we kept finding and adding wood :)). The best part of this whole trip was crawling into my tent that night, cuddling up next to that beautiful little four year old of mine and looking up to see the stars shining through the trees...my gosh, this is a good life we have. Heck, it gets rough at times and by the time we packed up and left I was EXHAUSTED but it's all so worth it. It's like my mother says, when you have children it's like reliving your childhood all over again. You see everything through their eyes and that is a perspective I could never get tired of.

       I am surrounded by amazing friends, wonderful family and endless possibilities. It's scary to me but this summer is all about new beginnings for the Wyatt girls. I can already feel it, it's going to be a summer of healing, a summer of moving on, a summer of making memories that will last a lifetime and a summer of LIVING. Life is an adventure and I have the two most adorable, eager little people to experience it with...I AM BEYOND BLESSED.

Mother's Day

       So, this Mother's Day didn't start like I thought it would. I sat in church, surrounded by other mothers getting loving looks and supportive hugs from their husbands...I never thought that that would be something I would be bothered by, and yet the longer I sat there the more aware I became that I was alone. It was absolutely heartbreaking (Cue in the violin and feelings of self pity). When the service ended (which let me insert here how AMAZING it was, regardless of how I was feeling) I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I high tailed it home, eager to get away from the perfect little families with their perfect little Mother's Day plans.
       Just a short time later, our family sat down for our Mother's Day lunch in honor of our fabulous mother. We ate, talked and gave her her presents and cards and then something happened that I was not expecting...my sweet older brother and his wife gave me a present. And then, again unexpected, my thoughtful older sister also gave me a present. And on top of that, my mother gave me a home made card that my sweet angel, Camille, painted herself. I think at this point you can probably guess what happened. Yep, this Mommy started crying. I was so touched that my family had thought about me. I had kept telling myself, "You know you're a fantastic mother, you do NOT need confirmation from others" and yet this year, this Mother's Day, that's exactly what I needed.

       I am so thankful for a family that is so thoughtful and for a God that knows precisely what I need and when     I need it. HE knew how broken I was feeling, HE knew that I needed some loving reassurance. I wasn't alone at all. God chose ME to be the mother to those two sweet girls...and if there's one thing i've learned in the past year it's that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle. Happy belated Mother's Day to all of my wonderful mommy friends.

Double the LOVE.

       My little Lily Belle started clapping this morning. And yesterday she started saying "uh oh" and "da-da". She is working on "growing" her third tooth (we expect its grand debut any day now, ouch) and she is so so super close to cruising on the furniture. Every morning when she wakes up she stands in her crib calling out, "Mama!!" until I go in and get her. She loves giving kisses, reading books, pointing and if you ask her who is number one she holds up one finger. All of these achievements make me realize even more just how fast my little ones grow.
       It's crazy to think that that little person crawling around raising cain wasn't even here a year ago. This time last year I was a whale of a woman, miserable, hot, cranky and so ready to meet my newest daughter. This time last year I was only a mother to one, so unaware of just how much my life was about to change. It's only one year later and I am now chasing two rug rats around, my life is so much crazier but it's also so much sweeter. While, yes, it is double the trouble it is also double the hugs, double the cuddles, double the laughs, double the play time, double the kisses and double the L-O-V-E.
       God is good to my little family. It's easy for me to stray these days. I get so stressed with being a single mommy and life tends to be very overwhelming. I go a few days without having my quiet time and I start getting this "I can do this by myself, I don't need any help" perspective on the whole situation. And that may be true...for a very short amount of time. And then it becomes extremely evident that I CANNOT do this on my own. At least not without being completely miserable and a bad mommy. I get back in the word and spend some time in prayer and all the pieces start falling back into place. It's a good thing God is patient with me :)

      I also have to insert here how thankful I am for protection over my sweet family one year ago on April 27th. When that monster of a tornado swept over our city, I was pregnant with our little Lil and as half of our family hid underneath the house and the other half underneath the stairs, I remember praying that God would protect us, that my unborn child would be protected...this past Friday I looked at those two sweet angels of mine and couldn't help but cry, out of appreciation and sheer thankfulness. Every day and every breath is such a blessing.