Mother's Day...a Little Sad...a Little More Sweet...a LOT to be Thankful for

It is Mother's Day...a day to celebrate moms everywhere, to show them our love and appreciation...and a day to make them feel extra special for all that they do for us. Personally I feel like I have the greatest mom on the face of the earth, and when I see other women with mugs or t-shirts that say on them "World's Greatest Mom", I think to myself...well, that can't really be you, because MY mom is the world's greatest! ;) And I really do think so!

I have been thinking a lot this week about motherhood...and the question that I've been asking is what really makes you a mom? Before Aaron and I were married, and before I ever had a sweet child growing inside of me, I thought this question was pretty black and white: a mom was a woman who had birthed a child and was raising it, or a woman who had already raised her kids and had grown children. Seemed simple. That's what a mom was...and then we had Gideon...a sweet, precious boy who never got to see the light of day but who was born into the radiance of the Light of Heaven. And, I knew...I was a mom. Although I never got to hear my sweet babe's voice, or see his beautiful eyes look up at me or feel the warmth of his little body I was a mother nonetheless. And it was bittersweet.

In the years following Gideon & Daniel's death and the passing of our sweet angel babies, Mother's Day was always really hard. Sure, I was just as thankful for my own sweet Momma, but for me personally it was a reminder that I was a mom, stripped of my children with a heart that was heavy because of my empty arms. And that experience has caused me to look at motherhood and being a mommy differently. It has made me more sensitive to the feelings of other women who have those same motherly longings. Women who might not have a child in their arms, but who are mommies just the same.

Today is a wonderful day to celebrate your own sweet mom, to remember motherly figures in your life that have made an impact on you and to encourage mothers who might be feeling the bittersweetness that today might bring.

Since Johnathan's birth the bittersweetness of Mother's Day is certainly a lot sweeter...and with the upcoming birth of another precious boy the sweetness is only growing. I am so thankful to be a mommy to all of my children. I love you, sweet Gideon. I love you, sweet Daniel. I love you, sweet angel babies. I love you, sweet Johnathan. And I love you, sweet Baby-Love. Six beautiful little people that each made me a mommy. And six beautiful reminders of what makes me a mother.

Happy Mother's Day to every woman out there who has loved a child with a mother's heart. That is what makes a mommy.

Many blessings,
Grace