Motherhood, My Happy Place

Motherhood is a gift that I will never take for granted. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a mama. I forever dreamt of the day that I would have little hearts that filled our home.

There was heartache and struggle and many challenges on our road to our four children. We experienced losses, NICU babies, and many sleepless nights of worry. I think that when you go through twists and turns to bring your babies home, you can’t help but find gratitude in the simple and easy moments together.

My Greatest Gift

Being a mom has always filled me with such joy. I truly feel the most like me when I’m at home with our kids. I love getting to know who they are becoming, and all of the glimpses that I get into their worlds. Slow days together have my heart.

Something that I worried about often, was when the baby stage would end. I felt so called to be a mama to little ones, and I had a beautiful season of soaking in their babyhood. What I’ve found now, I hope will ease the minds of mamas to little ones, these seasons are still so very precious. The magic doesn’t fade away with babyhood. We get to bond in different ways, we get to learn who our children are and who they are becoming. There is so much beauty in every stage. There are so many motherhood quotes that are beautiful reminders of this.

Time Marches On

Time doesn’t slow down, and as our kids grow older it can almost feel like time is speeding up. What really helps me to stay present, is to be intentional with my children. When we live fully present in each moment and are intentional about the time that we spend together, I feel a sense of peace. I know that I am not missing it, that I am right there with them, and that I am fully present. Motherhood photography and motherhood illustration are beautiful ways to capture these moments forever, and is probably why I love making art through photos, and embrace the motherhood aesthetic through my heart as an artist.

Staying Intentional

A few things that have helped me to be an intentional and present mama:

+ Embracing Bedtime +

I know how tiring and long and full our days can be! Bedtime can easily become a dreaded time of the day if we let it. I’ve tried really hard to build sweet routines around bedtime and to really savor the quiet time that we have at this time. This is often when some of our most heartfelt conversations happen, and I feel like it’s such an important part of our children’s day.

+ Supporting their Interests +

Sweet Aiden loves reptiles, Ainsleigh is growing into quite the artist, Apple loves to make special little table settings and to decorate for celebrations, Adelaide loves all things girly and is a little mama with her baby dolls. I try to be as encouraging and supportive of their interests, to ask questions, to take interest in them and to get lost in their imaginations with them.

+ Special Celebrations +

Holiday traditions, special birthday celebrations, incorporating our kids in celebrating one another — these are the memories that stick out to me from my childhood, I want each of our kids to know how loved they are and how much joy they bring us.

+ Prioritizing Togetherness +

Life is busy, but we make it a priority to never let family time slip through the cracks. Whether it’s dinner or breakfast time at the table together, movie nights, a fun outing somewhere special — we won’t get this time back and we do our best to intentionally plan for us all to be together.

+ One-On-One Time +

With four kiddos, it might be easy to feel like we rarely get alone time with each of them. Chris and I have made it a point to have one-on-one time with each kid on their own. I can see how special they feel, and I truly enjoy getting that time to really focus intentionally on each of them.

These are a few simple ways that I remain intentional in motherhood. I am forever grateful for the role that I get to play in each of my kiddos’ lives.

photos via beckley