Mother's Day

Being a mother to these two girls has been the greatest joy of my life.  They teach me so much and they have shaped my heart in ways I am eternally grateful for.  I am just so thankful.

And for my own mother, there are not enough words.  She has taught me what I know about how to nurture and love and discipline and teach my own two girls and she continues to inspire me daily in nearly every way possible.  She offers support to me in the task of mothering that most only dream of.  She listens to me talk about the minutia of a day raising two young children and helps me try to reflect on ways to do it better.  She loves my girls fiercly, and they love her in a way I could never have imagined.  I'm so thankful for her presence in my life and in theirs.  She is the best mother ever, no doubt.

Thanks be to God.

Mother-Daughter Tea

We found out on a Friday that it was likely that Clara had re-herniated, but we wouldn't be able to confirm until Monday.  So in that weekend in between we were living in one of those strange windows of life.  Unsure of what was ahead, aware of the potential for scary unknowns, but not quite able to name it and say it.  I don't know exactly how to describe all of those feelings, but it was a challenging time for me emotionally.  We had known since before Clara was born that she stood a chance of this in her future, but because she has been so healthy and typical in almost every way, it was easy to kind of forget about her rocky start and assume that we would not find ourselves back in that place again.  This was a quick and fast reality check.  The anticipation of challenging times, coupled with the unknown, was in some ways even harder than the surgery and recovery itself.  

But we also tried really hard that weekend to savor the happy and healthy Clara.  All the symptoms of the previous week were, at least temporarily, gone.  She was feeling good and back to her normal self.  So, we went to the pool and went to Raleigh for Lila's dedication, and spent time with family and friends and just soaked up life.  You know, the way we ought to always every day.  

On Saturday, our church hosted a Mother-Daughter tea party, so we got both girls all dolled up and went to enjoy some fancies with friends.

The girls all made facinators and fancy fans and decorated their own sugar cookies before we sat down to eat and sip some tea.

 This is the proper tea sipping technique, in case you were wondering:

Such special fun memories!  I'm continually grateful for this remarkable community.

Dear Daughters

Dear Daughters,

This morning as we drove Clara to school, I heard from the backseat, "Mommy?  You probably don't have any idea how much I love Eloise.  I love her so much you can't even believe it."  I replied to you by simply saying, "I know, Clara."    What I wanted to explain to you was how thankful I am that you truly adore her.  I wanted to somehow dislodge my heart from my throat in order to find the words to thank you for treasuring her instead of resenting her.  I wanted to freeze time, to record your sweet little voice saying those most sincere words and believing them with every bit of your soul.  At the same moment, I wanted to fast forward, just for a moment, to see what your relationship with each other will be like a few years down the road.   Would I think to myself, "I wish I could play back those words so that Eloise can know how  much her sister loved her"?  Or will there be no need because maybe, just maybe, your love, respect and affection for each other will only continue to deepen and grow.

Having never had a sister, this sisterly bond is new to me, but I'm watching it unfold, already, and I'm amazed.  This afternoon I watched Eloise look at Clara with a glimmer in her eye that said "you're the most incredible person in my world."  I watched Clara abandon her three year old toys in order to shake a rattle for Eloise and demonstrate how to manipulate the baby blocks.  I watched you both laugh at each other and gaze at each other and.... love each other.  You just love each other so much and it makes me ache, in a good way, to get to witness this.  Tonight, Clara rubbed lotion on Eloise's back and begged to give her one more hug before she went to sleep.  Although I'm not rushing time, I can't wait until Eloise finds words to express what she thinks about her big sister.  

I know it's inevitable that there will be days ahead when you fight with each other and lose your patience with each other and are jealous of each other and frustrated by each other.  And I know that those days won't mean you love each other any less, but today just felt like such a pure and genuine and honest expression of mutual love and adoration.  Right now, in this moment, you both just think that the other is incredible and it's wonderful and beautiful and precious and somehow I want to remember it.  So, thank you.  Thanks for letting me experience this sisterhood beside you.  You two have such beautiful hearts.  And Clara, as much as you think you love Eloise right now, let me assure you:  I love you both even more.

Mama

Looking Back: September {Phone Photos}

The last September post is the odds and ends of daily life (with a couple special events that I only captured on the camera phone.)  I'm sure you can tell from these how much these girls adore each other. 

Pizza, popcorn, family movie night:

Sunday Seersucker:

Some days I wake up in the middle of this:

Clara wrote Eloise's name for the first time (and that's a picture of Eloise too):

Building day:

Puppy kisses:

 WFU Homecoming:

Clara's Half Birthday with a half-cake:

More snuggles:

 Ran by the fire station to get the car seats moved and they gave Clara the royal treatment:

And Daddy reading to his girls.

Not a bad month, September.