First, I'll Be a Mother

When I was a little kid, I remember a poem hanging on the wall at my aunt's house. We spent a lot of time at her house, so after a while I memorized it (or pretty close).

Some houses hide the fact that children live there.

Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows, tiny smudges on the doors.

I should apologize, I guess, for toys strewn on the floors.

But I sat down with the children.

And we played, and laughed, and read.

Even though the doorbell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.

At times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other.

I want to be a housewife, but first, I'll be a mother.

That poem has been on my mind and heart for many years, even before I became a mother.

And that's why you haven't seen much on the blog lately. As much as I enjoy the blog, my family comes ahead of my writing! For the past few weeks since leaving the normalcy of my job, I've been playing with, reading with, laughing with and loving on my kiddos. I don't want to paint a picture of perfection, because we are far from perfect. But we are making some great memories together. We are having fun. And we are getting used to being together 24/7!

And we are excited that in a week and a half, we'll have one more joining us. After almost 15 years, Zack will be saying farewell to his work. Then we'll have several weeks to spend time with extended family, go on a couple of trips and some day trips, and say good-bye to friends and family.

The next few weeks will likely be busy, emotional, and probably a bit crazy. But we will try to take things one day at a time and make the most of this time.

Here are a few pictures from our first few weeks...