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.
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.
Mothering and nurturing never ends for the constant mother. After our own eagles take flight, we nurture neighborhood children and grandchildren, and elderly parents that have regressed to childhood…….God is great in his mighty plan and purpose, the intricate design and workings of a mothers heart!
My husband and I had our first child (a boy) 11 months after we were married. He lit up our world, and with his birth, I entered the journey of motherhood. In the next six years, God blessed us with two other boys also. As a little girl, my heart’s deepest longing was to be a wife and a mommy…nothing else. Raising three rambunctious little boys was a challenge at times. (Okay, to be honest it was challenging most of the time!) I made so many mistakes in their growing up years, yet God is more powerful than my blunders of motherhood, and now as they are 21, 19, and 15 years old I see the hand of God moving in their lives.
My biggest surprise in my journey of motherhood came seven years ago this month when I discovered that we were going to have another baby! At the age of 35 and with our youngest at that time being 8 years old, we were “starting over.” We used a midwife for our birth, and it was music to my ears when my husband announced to me, “It’s a boy!” Four boys…how blessed we were. Fast forward 3 1/2 years, and we find out once again we’re expecting another baby! I had just celebrated my milestone birthday of turning 40, and we embraced this new little one growing within me. Being pregnant at 40 is much different than being pregnant at 20! God was with us, though, and one week before my husband’s 45th birthday, we welcomed our fifth baby boy into our family! God is so good.
I am blessed to be the mother to 5 awesome boys, 1 daughter-in-love, and 1 sweet granddaughter! That’s right…I’m a grandma now too. God has been teaching me so much in these last seven years. I have grown to know the Lord in a deeper way than I did when our three oldest boys were little. I think to myself, “If I had only practiced then the things that I’m learning about now.” But I’m discovering that even though my older boys don’t need my constant help and guidance as they did when they were little, they still give my plenty of things to pray about as they’re young in their adult lives and facing the responsibilities and challenges of being godly young men in today’s society. My two little guys will be with me for a long time yet, and I’m thankful God is giving me the opportunity to train two more young lives to be leaders and servants for Him. Being a grandma, I now have the responsibility of helping shape and influence the hearts of my granddaughter and future grandchildren. Thank you for the teaching and encouragement you give on this website to moms (and grandmoms) like me who desire to be all God wants us to be.
I am surprised (actually, not any longer) by how much character has been wrought through my mothering years. I actually thought I had so much to offer, but now I realized that being a mom has trained me and honed me and gotten me on my knees like I never knew I needed, “way back then”!
God is so very good to give us these blessings in disguise!
I was not able to have my own natural children. My husband has a daughter from his 1st marriage. We knew she had some mental disabilities and was very immature for her age. She got pregnant at 18 and married the young man, whom also had some issues like here. On the day her son was born, I was at the OB and my husband and I had decided that me being able to have a child was in God’s hands, not ours or doctors or fertility drugs. Once we got home we found out our daughter was having her baby, Tyler. Due to circumstances beyond her control we ended up raising this sweet child. He is also autistic, which we discovered years later. But when the issue comes up about me not having children of my own, he tells me, “momma God didn’t give you any kids cause he knew I was going to need you!”. Out of the mouth of babes. My baby is now 21 years old and still is with us due to his autism and I love him and his mom both dearly.
I loved your story about the popcorn. kids are so special and each one so unique. Thanks for offering the book and the story!!
My two biggest surprises were how different each child was from the other. It often seemed like what would work with one would not work with another. The other big surprise was how much your parenting has to grow and change. Teenagers were a challenge for me.
We have four daughters. The last one graduates this year. I have noticed Motherhood doesn’t end when they move out and on. You are always a mother.
I think parenting is the most fun in the world and also the hardest job in the world. It is all worth it!
My biggest surprised by motherhood moment was when my daughter became a mom & she told me that she hoped she could be the kind of mom I was because she knew that a lot of times we wouldn’t be where we were if it wasn’t for the sacrifices I had made. That surprised me, because I had to work so much I felt like I really failed as a mom. That made it all worth it. To have my daughter tell me she wanted to be the kind of mom I was. God is good!
One of my biggest surprises as a mom recently is that we have worked on teaching our daughter a little about money; spending, saving and sharing, but she has been all about spending. She is not much spoiled but has had a spoiled attitude, and didn’t want to share, didn’t want to give, only receive, receive and spend, spend, spend… we have worked so hard on this, especially the last months, but I couldn’t see any progress.
A day last week my mother gave my daughter a little money to spend in a toy-store. She could choose whatever she wanted. She chose something that cost a third of what she had gotten. We went back to use the rest of the money and she couldn’t decide because she wanted EVERYTHING. At last she got a dollar more from my mother to buy something she really liked. And I thought….Uh-Oh…Will she get even more of the spoiled attitude now?
Before I could get her in the car seat she held the last piece she had bought in front of me, a little pony-figure she really had wanted for herself, and said ” Mom, I want you to have this”. I was about to tell her that I was happy she wanted to give, but she could keep it for her self. Then I asked why she wanted to give it to me. She said, ” Because this is so nice and I want you to have it”. My eyes watered with tears and I accepted gratefully.
Usually when she has given me things before, she want them back within the next ten minutes. This time it was differently. She keeps checking up on where I place the little pink pony, and I tell her I am looking for a extra special place for it.
I am so surprised by how much my little five year old can surprise me!
I love everything there is about motherhood. My husband and I were told we were not going to be able to have any children at all due to some major female issues. Little did we know that God had totally different plans for us. We were blessed with our “baby” boy 19 years ago. He actually just turned 19 on the 28th of April. We wanted him to have a sibling so we tried our chances for another one. We did not succeed in having another baby, but we have been blessed beyond measure with our son. I can not imagine my life without him…..the good the bad and the ugly….that is what has made this journey of motherhood so special. Would love to win this book for my niece. She just recently married and with the combined family have 4 children that are 3, 4,5 & 6 with one due on June 11th. Thank you for sharing your stories…love hearing all of them. Blessings to you!
Wow. This brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. So wonderfully said. Thanks so much for sharing this!
I want to win this book!! I can’t wait to get my hands on this book! Motherhood has taught me how selfish I am. They say that marriage does that and it has but it has been NOTHING compared to what motherhood had shown me about my selfish-self. But it is a blessing. This motherhood journey. A blessing from an all knowing God!
I have a lot of motherhood surprises with a 4 yr old girl and 3 yr old boy. My husband and I tried for our oldest 4 1/2 years before I got pregnant. So our big surprise was her brother came along 13 months after she was born. He was a surprise, but a nice surprise. God’s timing is a LOT BETTER than ours is!!! God has made some things work, when we didn’t think they would. Thanks for reminding me of all the BLESSINGS of motherhood that are so easy to forget in the busyness of day to day.
I have a friend who is pregnant with her 4th child. She is a very busy mother ! Ages 6,4,2, and one on the way! She really needs this book!
Motherhood is full of surprises, the fun everyday surprises. As much as we struggle as mothers, the thing that continues to surprise me is the little things they do for us. As much grief as they can give us, just the simple gesture of when walking, my 10 year old son reaches to hold my hand every time! Wow! Words cannot express!!! Listening to my daughter pray for me at night just melts my heart. I shouldn’t be surprised as I have tried teaching them the little things in life, but it does still surprise me. In a good way though!
At the age of 4 1/2 Sarah, we told Sarah, “No baby, Mommy can’t have anymore babies.” Without hesitation and with the faith of a child, she replied, “I asked Jesus. He said YES.” I replied, “Sweetheart sometimes God’s answer is NO.” Again, without hesitation & the faith of a child, she replied, “And sometimes He just wants us to wait! Jesus told me that I am going to have a baby sister!” As she told me this, I had just completed a super strength radioactive iodine treatment for my 2nd battle with thyroid cancer. We had a made a decision for Sarah to stay home with me another year and start kindergarten as a 6 yr old. We wanted for her & I to have that time together. On her first day of preschool that year, I picked her up as usual. It was usual, except for the horrible nausea & my roller coaster blood sugars. Through much prayer & faith and against the odds of nationally acclaimed doctors at the Houston Medical Center, Hannah was born before Sarah started kindergarten. When Hannah was 8, she informed her Children’s Minister, “God has big plans for me! He brought me here when the doctors said I wouldn’t be here.” She then proceeded to tell him her story. “I’m here because my sister, Sarah, prayed & prayed for a little sister and Jesus told her yes.” The fact that she can acknowledge this at such a young age and share her story is one of many surprises of motherhood.
Your story gave me chills! That is truly AMAZING! I absolutely love how God works!!
I was very surprised by motherhood both times! It is so very challenging, but such a huge blessing and growing experience <3 We are on the journey to adopting another child and are excited and nervous all over again!
How AmazingIt Would Be To Have This Book!
I won’t forget when we were having our breakfast and my 2 yr old girl said to her other baby cousin (3yrs old) – she was imitating a prayer infact she was praying, “Jesus…..Jesus for me”. Am so blessed hearing my baby girl praying and reading her memory verse (bible text) every morning when we have our devotion, she would read loud and clear and that always brings tears of joy to my eyes to see how God has lead me thru difficult times since birth and my baby’s birth til now.
Would love to have the book to share with my sisters and girl-friends (Mothers) :-)s
God bless
My “babies” will be 25, 21 and 17 this year. Time goes by much too quickly. My daughter will be a senior in high school in the fall, and I already know it will be a very tough time – trying to enjoy every soccer game & band activity yet knowing this is her last year & my last year doing all those things with her. I will definitely try to enjoy every minute of it!
I also have an adopted blessing after 2 biological children. I lost my first hubby to cancer and am now blessed with a stepdaughter as well…. God knew the perfect way to fill my mother’s heart 🙂
blessings,
Annette