What keeps us going

Hannah's big smile! Enjoying some time on the porch

Being a wife and working mom of two is the most difficult role I’ve ever taken on. Like most moms however, it’s also the job that I work the hardest at. Some days seem nonstop. I wake up early, drop off kids, fight traffic to the office, crunch numbers and answer questions all day, fight traffic again to go home, make supper, nurse Hannah, play with Abigail, do bathtime and then bedtime. Whew, I’m exhausted! In there somewhere are household chores, grocery trips, doctor’s appointments and some time for friends and extended family.

Andy’s work schedule keeps him hopping as well. When he isn’t working for Johnson County he is usually doing landscape work for the electric company or a concrete job for someone. Both of us make the girls our #1 priority, spending as much time with them as possible. That priority guided our career paths to this point, we are each away from home only 4 days a week (not counting Andy’s "side jobs"). We share bedtime duties and take equal shares in discipline and even on days when we barely have an uninterrupted conversation, we usually manage to stay on the same page as parents. All of this is such hard work but we wouldn’t trade our lives for anything. This time of having little people to mold and raise will pass too quickly. In the meantime, the girls are our reward for the hard work we do.

Every afternoon when Andy brings the girls home I am anxious to see them and hear the details of their day. Abigail comes walking up the porch steps by herself and opens the kitchen door. Then is the best part, she comes running across the kitchen for a hug saying, "Hi Mommy, how was your day?" What a thrill to watch her grow and learn so much, so fast. We talk a little about our day and have supper and then we hope to play outside some, if the weather is nice. Then, I give Abby a bath while Hannah hangs out with Daddy and when Abby is ready for stories we switch. Andy rocks her and lays her down.

Each evening when I change Hannah into her pajamas we have what seems like a full conversation of coos and gurgles with lots of grins and big happy smiles. She is so sweet and we are really enjoying her, just as we hoped we would. These few minutes with her make my day and I just love seeing her so happy to see me! For at least two weeks I’ve been trying to get this time on video to share on the blog but apparently our little Hannah is camera shy because she immediately clams up...or maybe she only wants to share her cute little sounds with Mommy!

So, those are the moments with each daughter that delight me on a daily basis. This post is not about a specific event or progress report, just a synopsis of the little moments of daily happiness that our children bring us. Even though they frequently whine and spit up, we love them so much no matter what and we’re so happy that all of you care so much about our little family.