Sisters, Motherhood And All The Things In Between.

I took these photos on a little outing with the girls when we were in Florida. They’re random and silly but for some reason I just love them. The two of them couldn’t stop dancing their way down the streets that day. Rowan would make a move and then Finley would copy. That’s how it usually goes. Finley loves her Roro and is always just a few steps away, copying her every move. She always has to do what Rowan does. Finley’s most used sentence is probably “i coming too!!” She never wants to left out. It’s been one of my greatest joys seeing their relationship blossom. They love each other fiercely, of course not without sister squawks but that’s to be expected. Rowan builds, Finley knocks down. Needless to say there are always some tears but their love always shines through. Last night as I was putting Rowan to bed, Finley was in the other room having a time out with Kev for normal Finley shenanigans. Finley was of course upset and next thing I know Rowan is balling because she feels so bad for Finley because she can hear her crying. Rowan is a nurturer through and through. She is the number one look out for Finley. Always patting her face and saying “it’s ok baby” or “good job honey, you did it”. Oh man… the two of them are just the sweetest thing to witness.

Life with a 4.5 and 2 year old is chaotic but worlds of fun. We have a good time together! Motherhood is a weird journey sometimes, huh? One that’s always evolving and changing. Who I am as a mother now is so completely different than who I was when Rowan was born. It’s a good thing though (I hope). We should always be growing right? The Lord has really worked in my heart the last year on my thoughts toward it all. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the mind set that being “just” a mother isn’t enough. I felt this pressure to be striving for something greater all the time, as if I wasn’t being successful or doing something worthy. I didn’t even know what it was that I was striving for? All I know is that it left me feeling quite inadequate in my role of Mom. Have you read Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson? or even Make It Happen by Lara Casey? I really, really enjoyed those books. I talked a great deal about all of this at Hope Spoken actually. My talk was titled “The Story of Rising Up”. It was all about rising up in Christ right where you are. It doesn’t matter if you are changing diapers or creating a nonprofit it’s all worthy and great for the kingdom of heaven. For me, that’s motherhood. I am knee deep in it and it’s something I feel so fulfilled by when I remove all the outside worldly pressures. Don’t get me wrong, we all need our “me” time and I totally still have dreams and goals but I have learned where to let go and where to make the time for what matters. I hope I can write out my talk into a blog post one of these days because I would love to expand on all of this. I feel like as mothers we struggle with always feeling less than for some reason. Why? Why do we do this to ourselves? (cough, cough social media-just kidding)

Well I’m not really sure why I titled this post “Sisters, Motherhood and Everything In Between” because we’ve definitely covered sisters and motherhood, but I am kinda done with the post and I’m not quite sure what the in between should be. The title flows though so maybe I’m just going to leave it. Should we talk about spicy chocolate ice cream again? No? Ok. Ok. How about 5 things I am totally loving right now? 1. Grapefruits. I can’t get enough. I used to hate them now I love them. 2. Starburst. Don’t ask. 3. Freshly dyed and cut hair. Holla. 4. Hot Yoga (post to come) 5. The fact that the forecast is at 60 or above for the next week!!

Rowan: Dress from Old Navy, Moccasins from Freshly Picked | Finley: Jumper from Old Navy, Sandals from Target