the next steps...

*Shadow Box of Amelia's Giraffe, Stella's Wooden Fish and Gold toddler Shoes worn by the girls

**A favourite story that we can all recite from heart

It has been an emotional week at our house. 

 The girls were off at zoo camp, Graham was at work and I purged our baby/toddler stuff, putting things in donation boxes, to sell boxes and organizing mementos to keep.  My baby is 5, Stella is off to school this fall and I turn 35....both Graham and I have felt as though we are ready to close a chapter and open a new one.  It is both very sad and very exciting.  So it has been with tears and so many sweet memories that I made my way through precious baby n toddler toys and books.  I even ended up taking photos of things which I will put in our family album because they were special; the toy that hung on the car seat, the puzzle Amelia was obsessed with at 2, the crinkle ball I would wedge between Stella's legs when she first started sitting up and the little wrist rattle both of the girls wore when they discovered they had hands, oh the sweetness.  I may have went a bit crazy with the photos but I think I needed to do it to help me through the process.

 

It is no secret our journey to be parents was long but worth it, absolutely worth it.  The heartache and desire is such a contrast to the JOY we now have with our little women and the HOPE we feel for the babe we lost. Super grateful for eternal families.  Grateful that these relationships will be perpetuated beyond the grave. 

As I look at the last seven years I am so grateful for the opportunity I have had to be their mother.  I couldn't help but reminisce and get sentimental.  It has been worth it to be with them, have them, the pain of the journey to get them....all worth it, every single sacrifice. The trade offs for me to stay home with them have been worth it, sometimes a challenge but again the supposed sacrifice has been worth it.

At one point during my purging I even texted my mom to ask if it was weird that I was thinking about grandkids (we have a lot of cool toys)?!?!?! She said no totally normal ha.

The girls are at really fun ages. They are independent but still love to cuddle up with me.  The things I enjoy the most are sitting around the kitchen table with them crafting or snuggled up on our grey couch reading together. I love when we are reading scriptures or watching mormon messages and we all feel the spirit or they speak up sharing a beautiful insight,  I so desperately want them to know the Lord loves them and that they are ladies with great diving potential.  These young years are going by so quickly.  Each stage/age holds it own challenges but one thing is certain, they pass...the ladies grow and we find great joy in being their parents.

 

 ~ Momma P