A Wife Loved Like The Church

I love reading. It might be one of my all time favorite pastimes. However, since having Julia and Hannah, I’ve laid aside any active reading; taking up to two months to complete a book. Despite my slow and sporadic “pleasure reading”, I’m finding that my love of reading is rubbing off on Julia.

I’ve made it a point to read to Julia daily (or at least every other day) since she was a small infant. She didn’t start really enjoying “reading time” until she was about a year. Now, she asks “read book” and if you’re not careful, she will have you read to her for well over an hour. This is especially true before bedtime – as a means of delaying having to go to sleep.

Over the last couple of weeks, whenever Jonathan tells her to grab a book so he can read with her, she always replies “Mama read book”. When he insists on reading, she says even louder, “Mama read book!”. I’m not gonna lie, that makes me kinda happy. 🙂

There are few things I feel I do “well” as a mother. There are few things I feel that Julia doesn’t prefer to have her “Papa do”. So, to have her continuously say “Mama read book” makes me thrilled. It’s usually the one time in our day that it is just Julia and me; a time for snuggling, loving and reading.

I love our reading time.

*Julia’s face is so shiny because she has vaseline all over it to help with some major dryness and chapping.

Julia turns two years old today!

This is quite shocking to me. I did fine grasping her first birthday, but for whatever reason, two seems huge to me.

The last two years have been amazing, hard, wonderful, challenging and all together life changing.

In two (relatively short) years, I have learned a lifetime of information. Like:

– never leave a two-year old alone in a bathroom, unless you like floods.

– choose kid books you like to read, they are less likely to get old after the 15th time.

– dry erase markers are not washable.

– first words, first sentences, first everything is absolutely amazing.

– never, ever, ever (I mean EVER!) lose a favorite blanket, baby doll, toy, shoes, jacket, cup, book…. the list could go on.

But far more importantly, over the last two years I have learned:

– my life is not my own.

– I am a sinner, a nasty sinner.

– God’s grace is so great, I cry just thinking about it.

– my “job”, my role as mom, is far more important than I give it credit.

– God is in control, not me.

– Julia was designed for me, for our family, chosen by God to be my daughter. She is a joy, a gift, a precious girl, who fills my life with wonder in ways I never knew possible. Too often I take it for granted. Too often I push being a mama aside to be a someone else. Too often I forget how blessed I am to be her mom.

Mabel – you are down right amazing. Your laughter, your energy, your desire to be loved and to love. Daughter, being your mama is the best job I have ever had. I love cooking with you, playing with you and being your little heart’s safe keeper. I look forward to our days together, even the tough ones. You are precious, to me, to your daddy, to Sissy and especial to God. I love you sweet girl. So very, very much.