Mother

Being a wife and mom is a lot of work. That's also the reason it is such an honor and such a fulfilling role to have.  Spending the days at home with my boys and being the wife of such an amazing man is such a joy.  And although I am usually completely exhausted by the end of the day, I wouldn't want to have any other job.  It's the best and that's all there is to it!  I have done a lot of reflecting the past couple of weeks.  Thinking back to the time we spent at the NICU and wondering if we were ever going to be a real family...you know, a family that actually lives in the same house.  It crossed my mind several times that it was never going to happen.  I spent days and nights wondering if my babies were going to survive and if they did, would they live normal lives?  So many 'what ifs' racing through my mind.  It was even more difficult knowing that there was not a single person who could guarantee what the outcome would be.  It was a horrible feeling knowing that my sweet husband and the father of our boys was 1,000 miles away.  For SO many reasons.  And now, comparing what our lives were like then and now, words cannot describe how wonderful things are!  Do we have hard days when the boys don't nap and cry all day? Yup.  Do I have days when I feel like I'm a horrible mom and don't do enough for/with my boys? Yup.  But I think part of that comes with being a parent.  I'll probably feel like that for the rest of my life.  Wonder if I'm doing enough or being a good example for them.  But it is also an incentive to be a better wife, mother, daughter, friend and sister.

I want to be the kind of mom that my mom was to me.  A "Sandra Hunter 2.0", if you will:)  My mom ALWAYS took time for us. ALWAYS.  If something was important to us, it was important to her.  She was SUCH a good teacher.  And I'm not just referring to her job as a school teacher (although she was the best school teacher ever too), but at home.  She took the time to show us HOW to do something.  She didn't just do it for us which would have been much easier for her.  She taught us how to sew, cook, plant a garden and take care of it.  She taught us how to take care of a home, how to be a good spouse and friend.  I could go on and on.  Most importantly, she taught us what it means to be a true follower of Christ.  I am positive that there wasn't ever one one ounce of mean-ness (probably not a word, but just go with it) in her.  She was the most pure and Christ like person I have ever met.  I would say that even if she wasn't my mother.

I wish I could be more like her.  I hope to be more like her.  What an honor it is to be her daughter.  A special 'Thanks' goes out to my cute Grammie for raising such a wonderful woman to be my mother, my dad's wife, my children's grandmother (i.e. Grams) and mother in law to my husband.  I wish so badly she could be here with us.  My sister and I talk about that all the time.  We always had so much fun together!  And there is so much I want to ask her about raising kids and about a million other topics.  Thanks mom for being the best!

I can hardly believe it is almost June!!! WOW! That means my boys will be one in just a couple of months...YIKES!  I'm so not ready for them to be one! However, I am already planning a cake and a fun little party for them because secretly I am so excited to have my own kids to throw a party for:) We are so excited for the summer to be here and for Jacob to have some time off of school.  We have a list that is 10 miles long of things we want to do.  Sadly, one of those things we MUST do is move.  UGH.  I hate moving.  However, this time it is just down the street and is much cheaper..YAY!  So really, its a good thing.  I just don't want to pack up the house again.  Oh well....YAY for cheaper rent! (I'm trying to sound upbeat about it)

The boys are doing so well.  Sammy has learned how to roll over and can now reach for toys and put them in his mouth.  He slobbers like CRAZY on everything and has even slipped through Jacob's hands!  Sam didn't have anything on besides his diaper and had been slobbering all over his stomach. When Jacob went to pick him up, he just slid right through!  Sammy is our happy, bright blue eyed, photogenic goof ball.  We love him so much and love all of the goofy things he does.  He makes us laugh!  He is also starting to be able to sit up on his own for about 30 seconds!  Go Sammy!

Drew has also turned into a little bit of a goof.  But I guess that is because he has some good examples around here:)  He smiles SO much more than he used to.  He loves to sing songs (hum really loudly) all the time, slobbers like his older and much bigger brother, and is still learning how to reach for things.   They are both so much fun to play with and I truly feel so blessed to be able to spend all day with them.

Thanks for being our boys Sammy and Drew!  We love you so much!