not for the faint of heart

just in case no one’s ever told you

parenting is not for the faint of heart…..

messaged  a cousin this week who’s just had her first baby

“How you holdin’ up lil’ momma?”

she text back

“whew! what an experience this motherhood thing is.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself

I sent her a text back that said

“yep, and it gets better and better!!”

attached to the text was a picture of a

disassembled tampon I discovered while vacuuming under my tub

and juuuust as I was just about to press “send”

Mighty Mouse brought me this

“bouquet” of barnyard feathers

“just because”

So this week I’ve had her and many of my other friends heavy on my heart…

One sweet friend on bed-rest praying daily for her little one…counting every day. Some days, every hour.

Another loved one has chosen to abandon her child. Completely baffled by the act.  This situation leaves me without words.

A friend in Texas, praying fervently for a “positive” pregnancy test. Month after month. Year after year. Waiting. Still.

and finally, this morning, news that one more who had been desperately pleading for a baby, anxiously listening for a heartbeat only to be told the sack is empty. Again.

Each story special. Unique.

not for the faint of heart.

infertility to postpartum…

Forever and a day I will choose to be thankful for the tough days.

The days my boys wear me slap out.

Farming and fishing,

canoeing or tubing

Tents or ticks in their inney belly buttons (seriously, this was intense)

I am eternally grateful that God chose me to be the mother our two healthy, little rascals.

Is motherhood what I thought it would be??

No way Jose’.

It’s WAY MORE

fulfilling, heart-wrenching, rewarding, consuming & BLISSFULLY EXHAUSTING

than I ever thought or dreamed it would be.

Which is why I am praying without ceasing this morning

for my friends who are aching

broken in their infertility

struggling with their lot in life or

adjusting to their new life plus one

today I am praying

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

much love & hope,

k