Her small hands peel back the covers to see if my eyes are open. Gently, I feel her fingers against my cheek as she loudly whispers, “Time to wake up mommy!”
I smile {with my eyes closed} and roll over. It will take more than her sweetness to convince this tired mama to get out of bed. Hours of driving, sitting on wood bleachers, shouting and cheering for her big brother’s basketball games at a tournament the day before… has worn me out!
I tell Aster it’s still dark and that she needs to go back to sleep. Disappointed yet determined, she walks her little self over to the window, feels her way along the curtains to find the plastic wand so she can pull them back and show me it is NOT still dark.
Not only is it NOT dark, it is time for breakfast and she knows just what we can eat!
“Look Mommy!” She says, as she points her finger to the parking lot. “Wake up and eat popcorn. Seeeeeeeee. There’s a popcorn tree. When you shake it, popcorn falls off!”
Ahhh. Motherhood. It doesn’t come with much sleep, but it does come with popcorn trees! And so many other surprises.
Aster is one of God’s biggest surprises so far in this motherhood journey of mine. Only He could know how much I needed this girl of mine.
God birthed Aster in our hearts and brought her into our family four years ago, just as our boys crested the waves of teenage manhood. Obviously I needed a little more adventure, a lot more carpooling and a huge dose of unconditional love.
And God made sure I got it! All wrapped up in pink bows, giggles, snuggles, sleepless nights, developmental delays, sweet kisses, celebrations, questions, fears, happy tears, laughter and memories. So.many.memories.
Today I have a surprise just for you! Im giving away five copies of my new favorite book for the heart of moms, and those who mother in other capacities: “Surprised by Motherhood“ written by my friend Lisa-Jo Baker. I’m reading it now and it’s so much more than a book; it’s dessert and friendship for my soul! Today, Lisa-Jo’s publisher has offered to give away 5 copies to five of you!! But first {this}! For days when you wonder if what you do matters, when it feels like the same thing stuck on repeat 365 days a year! Let this be your reminder: you are braver than you know because you mother!
Whether you are a mother, have a mother, or have mothered in other capacities and felt inadequate for the job… this is a needed reminder that there is nothing ordinary about being a mother.
Enter to WIN: Simply click “Share Your Thoughts” below and do just that, or share your biggest “surprised by motherhood” moment or memory. We’ll randomly choose five winners and announce them here next week.
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Recently after extremely surprising events, I have been given my two youngest grandsons to raise. My son, their father will be a single parent. This turn of events has opened my eyes to so many things that God has given me that I simply have taken for granted.
I ask that each of you please remember me and my family in your prayers as I learn to accept new challenges and to try and be the grandparent/co-parent my babies (1 & 2) will need.
Thank you for so many words of encouragement from you all. It helps knowing that I am not alone.
Mimi
I will have to say that my most surprised by motherhood moment was when we founf out that we were having a 4th child. We were content with our family of 5, but God said, “let there be 6!” I was actually 4.5 months pregnant before we even knew. I wasn’t sick and hadn’t gained weight. I thought I had an IUD in place and that there wasn’t any way at all that I could be pregnant!!! I went to the doctor thinking that they were going to find a mess inside of me, however, what we found was a healthy baby boy kicking around! I called my husband who was expecting news of a D&C or some other medical procedure, and told him the news. At first, he didn’t believe me and thought I was pulling his leg. It was hilarious! We cried and then laughed because we really didn’t know what we going to do with another baby! We had given most of all of our things away because our 3rd child was then over a year old. I will never forget how the Lord provided for our youngest and our family through people that we didn’t even know that well at the time. In fact, to this day, we don’t have to buy very many clothes for either one of our boys, who are now 8 and 10.
Motherhood is something one must live to really grasp. I say this with my oldest only being 9 and my youngest 4 sandwiched around my 5 and 7 year old. I know I haven’t grasped what I’m really doing yet, but over the past 3 days I’ve been seeing the possibilities as I teach them at home. I was not a person I personally would have picked for this job, yet my Maker is making me that person. I have lacked this confidence for oh, about the last 10 years of my life and He has been building it in me slowly, methodically. I literally must remain in His presence all day just to survive. Yet, it’s not surviving. Somehow, it is flourishing. And I can only give the glory to my risen Savior Who is making this wave move forward. The reward is in the smiles, the laughter,the comments of “You’re the best Mom in earth.” But Jesus and I, yeah, we know it’s Him doing it. And it’s a good place to be.