On becoming a homemaker...

If you knew me at all in high school (and maybe even college for that matter), I probably didn't strike you -- I didn't even strike myself -- like the classic stay-at-home-mom who loves to bake and clean and be surrounded by children running around. To be honest, I was usually so busy with academics, cross country, track, gospel choir, or some other activity that I didn't really have much time to think about what I was going to be like once my "mom" days came around.

But, as you now know, they came around quite quickly, and I have plunged headfirst into being a wife and a mom and a homemaker and everything else that entails. It has not always been an easy transition for me (especially those first couple of months with Charis when Zach was at work most of the day), but just over the past couple of weeks I have to admit that I really am beginning to feel, well, maternal.


I am starting to really enjoy making cookies from scratch, hanging laundry outside on the line, nursing my almost-14-month old (though I am feeling a bit ready for her to start sleeping through the night :)), and getting creative with our meals at home. Israel has stretched me tremendously in the cooking department since almost everything we make here has to be done from scratch, and while there have been some epic fails over the past several months (just ask my patient husband), there has been great growth, as well. I am starting to feel way more comfortable in my role as a homemaker and mother, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Yet as all moms do (I hope?), I still have my moments of selfishness and why-aren't-you-asleep-after-forty-minutes-of-nursing and is-it-seriously-already-time-for-me-to-make-another-meal? But, of course, in spite of my shortcomings I'm grateful to have a God and a husband who are always full of patience, forgiveness, and love. And when I relax in Zach's arms as we watch Charis giggle and crawl all over us after a long day, I know there can be nothing as sweet as this.