(at the hospital a few hours after birth)
motherhood is hard.
motherhood is hard.
it's downright the hardest thing i've ever done.
however, it's also the most rewarding.
what a rollercoaster!
i was inaugurated into this profession by none other than my big k... my firstborn.
today is her birthday and i have a lot of emotions overcoming me.
every year on her birthday i reflect on the day she was born.
it was a long haul, her birth, i mean.
i was in labour, from the very first contraction to the end, for approximately 68 hours.
ha!
that sounds WAY worse than it was... but they were off and on for a few days before they picked up.
being a first timer, i geared up after the very first one.
hence... i felt like i was in real labour for days on end.
realistically... i only was in active labour about 18 hours 'til she was born.
but the long and short of it... she took her sweet time to arrive.
(in her first week at home)
she made me work for her presence.
which is funny because that's still her personality today.
she doesn't easily give her heart or love away.
she's not very affectionate...
she doesn't like to share her deepest feelings or darkest secrets...
let's face it, she's often awkward in situations that call for genuine thankfulness or showing of emotions.
you have to really pull things out of her.
she makes you work for it!
but when you get to see a sliver of her shining personality... it's magic.
she's magic!
my first born!
(2 weeks old)
she's instinctually a leader.
she's not the loud, boisterous kind... but just a gentle and quiet one that leads naturally.
don't get me wrong... this girl can be loud!
but only in situations where she feels extremely comfortable.
i'm sure her teachers laugh when i ask how she is at school, expecting and bracing myself for the worst.
at home she has an attitude (but what 8 year girl old doesn't?)...
but at school, she's always the picture of respect.
(about 7 months old)
i guess we must be doing something right.
that, or it's just a first born trait.
this girl would NEVER bend the rules.
i'm serious!
she is a rule follower, through and through.
she also has an amazing memory and an uncanny ability to remember the most minute details.
i think she inherits this from me.
we both can recall past events and situations that many people tend to forget.
i love that we have this ability together.
(although my ability is seriously lacking the older i get.)
(about 18 months old)
she has a multitude of friends and is friendly with everyone.
kids her own age are just drawn to her.
it's kind of strange because i don't think there's anything that stands out about her...
but it's something i love about her.
i was just talking to a teacher from her school the other day and she told me how she's observed that k is always playing with different groups of kids at recess time.
and she's having a blast with every one of them.
we had to seriously widdle down her birthday party list!
i hope this means she won't be cliquey when she's older... time will tell on that one.
(2.5 years old... a big sister!)
she has thirst for knowledge that is insatiable.
she always wants to research new stuff, wants to read about different countries, wants to watch shows on exotic animals, wants to see pictures of machines, and people and more.
it's exhausting... but exhilirating to see her learning and taking in her environment.
(2.5 years old... getting into momma's stuff... curious and apparently observant!)
she's very independant.
even though she is social, she absolutely loves to play on her own.
nothing is better than when she's holed up in her room, making cities and creating worlds for her tiny petshop animals and playmobil people.
she could spend hours in this type of creative play.
but she's also a fantastic big sister.
she's patient, especially with her littlest sister, and (mostly) accepting.
even though they quarrel, she loves her sisters very much and would do anything for them.
(3.5 years old... can you tell her little sister looks up to her?)
she's also a fantastic writer.
her teacher told us that she just writes and writes and writes.
her imagination is limitless and she fills pages and pages with her made up stories.
it's never a chore when you hand her a pencil and paper and tell her to write.
it's one of her greatest joys!
(4.5 years old)
even though she doesn't show it when we're there, she loves church.
she loves to be at sunday school and learn new bible stories.
she is not a singer and it's like pulling teeth trying to get her to sing, but she loves music.
and often we'll hear her humming and singing along to her own praise and worship music in our basement.
(5.5 years old and heading to kindergarten!)
she is just a joy...
and our first little miracle.
she came after our devastating miscarriage and showed us that having faith in God was the only thing that mattered.
and this is why we fittingly gave her the middle name, faith.
(5.5 years old and became a big sister yet again to another girl)
she changed our lives, for the better and she keeps changing it.
daily i'm thankful for her... even though daily we seem to fight.
i think it's because we're so similar.
we think the same way... we act a lot in the same way.
this leads to the butting of heads.
but i just love that girl so much it hurts.
(goofing off at 6.5 years)
she keeps breaking the mold i put her in (which is good) and she surprises me all the time.
she's the girl that we trial and error everything as parents.
she's the guinea pig.
but she handles all the pressure and expectations so well.
i usually don't give her enough credit.
(feeling uncomfortable in the spotlight on her 7th birthday)
she truly is a gem.
we pray that she'll put God number one in her life and from there... we feel everything else will fall into place.
we hope she'll have the courage to chase her dreams even knowing that we won't always be there to catch her when she falls.
we pray for her to stand up for those that can't... and yet be meek, humble and a willing servant.
(7.5 years old... and doing her job as biggest sister perfect as she can)
we have so much to be thankful for... and all we can do is praise Jesus for this little lady!
aw sweet pea... we love you so much!
happy 8th birthday!
every year on her birthday i reflect on the day she was born.
it was a long haul, her birth, i mean.
i was in labour, from the very first contraction to the end, for approximately 68 hours.
ha!
that sounds WAY worse than it was... but they were off and on for a few days before they picked up.
being a first timer, i geared up after the very first one.
hence... i felt like i was in real labour for days on end.
realistically... i only was in active labour about 18 hours 'til she was born.
but the long and short of it... she took her sweet time to arrive.
she made me work for her presence.
which is funny because that's still her personality today.
she doesn't easily give her heart or love away.
she's not very affectionate...
she doesn't like to share her deepest feelings or darkest secrets...
let's face it, she's often awkward in situations that call for genuine thankfulness or showing of emotions.
you have to really pull things out of her.
she makes you work for it!
but when you get to see a sliver of her shining personality... it's magic.
she's magic!
my first born!
she's instinctually a leader.
she's not the loud, boisterous kind... but just a gentle and quiet one that leads naturally.
don't get me wrong... this girl can be loud!
but only in situations where she feels extremely comfortable.
i'm sure her teachers laugh when i ask how she is at school, expecting and bracing myself for the worst.
at home she has an attitude (but what 8 year girl old doesn't?)...
but at school, she's always the picture of respect.
i guess we must be doing something right.
that, or it's just a first born trait.
this girl would NEVER bend the rules.
i'm serious!
she is a rule follower, through and through.
she also has an amazing memory and an uncanny ability to remember the most minute details.
i think she inherits this from me.
we both can recall past events and situations that many people tend to forget.
i love that we have this ability together.
(although my ability is seriously lacking the older i get.)
she has a multitude of friends and is friendly with everyone.
kids her own age are just drawn to her.
it's kind of strange because i don't think there's anything that stands out about her...
but it's something i love about her.
i was just talking to a teacher from her school the other day and she told me how she's observed that k is always playing with different groups of kids at recess time.
and she's having a blast with every one of them.
we had to seriously widdle down her birthday party list!
i hope this means she won't be cliquey when she's older... time will tell on that one.
she has thirst for knowledge that is insatiable.
she always wants to research new stuff, wants to read about different countries, wants to watch shows on exotic animals, wants to see pictures of machines, and people and more.
it's exhausting... but exhilirating to see her learning and taking in her environment.
she's very independant.
even though she is social, she absolutely loves to play on her own.
nothing is better than when she's holed up in her room, making cities and creating worlds for her tiny petshop animals and playmobil people.
she could spend hours in this type of creative play.
but she's also a fantastic big sister.
she's patient, especially with her littlest sister, and (mostly) accepting.
even though they quarrel, she loves her sisters very much and would do anything for them.
she's also a fantastic writer.
her teacher told us that she just writes and writes and writes.
her imagination is limitless and she fills pages and pages with her made up stories.
it's never a chore when you hand her a pencil and paper and tell her to write.
it's one of her greatest joys!
even though she doesn't show it when we're there, she loves church.
she loves to be at sunday school and learn new bible stories.
she is not a singer and it's like pulling teeth trying to get her to sing, but she loves music.
and often we'll hear her humming and singing along to her own praise and worship music in our basement.
she is just a joy...
and our first little miracle.
she came after our devastating miscarriage and showed us that having faith in God was the only thing that mattered.
and this is why we fittingly gave her the middle name, faith.
she changed our lives, for the better and she keeps changing it.
daily i'm thankful for her... even though daily we seem to fight.
i think it's because we're so similar.
we think the same way... we act a lot in the same way.
this leads to the butting of heads.
but i just love that girl so much it hurts.
she keeps breaking the mold i put her in (which is good) and she surprises me all the time.
she's the girl that we trial and error everything as parents.
she's the guinea pig.
but she handles all the pressure and expectations so well.
i usually don't give her enough credit.
she truly is a gem.
we pray that she'll put God number one in her life and from there... we feel everything else will fall into place.
we hope she'll have the courage to chase her dreams even knowing that we won't always be there to catch her when she falls.
we pray for her to stand up for those that can't... and yet be meek, humble and a willing servant.
we have so much to be thankful for... and all we can do is praise Jesus for this little lady!
aw sweet pea... we love you so much!
happy 8th birthday!
we can't wait to see where life takes you!
1 comment:
oh how I love sweet "big" K. ;o) She is growing up to be such a beautiful little lady...inside AND out! You are a great mother. Look at all three of your beautiful girls.
xox
Post a Comment