I am Just a Regular Mom

         Motherhood is a gift from God - a gift I looked forward to receiving for as long as I can remember.  When I was a little girl I was constantly pretending I was a mother - in fact, I don't remember playing much else as a child.  I would name all my babies and dress them up in my old baby clothes and tote them around with me all over the place.  I had babies who would cry, take a bottle, and even babies who would mess in a diaper.  When my little sister came along, I was nine and felt like I received the ultimate baby doll.  Who knew that all those years of pretending would prepare me for changing her diaper and carrying her around from here to there.  I wasn't a huge fan of her tantrums and the fact that my mom could NEVER say no to her, but having a baby sister cemented the deal - I wanted to be a mom when I grew up and that.is.that!
         After meeting the love of my life, Dan, in college and getting married soon after we graduated, we knew we wanted to start a family right away.  This was it - what I have waited my whole life for - motherhood.  We were blessed to get pregnant right away with our oldest son Shane and everything about the pregnancy, labor, and delivery was a beautiful experience for our family.  We knew we wanted to have another child right away so when Shane was 15 months old, we welcomed Cody into the world.  Again, everything was perfect.  I did it....I was a mother of two amazing boys!!
         It wasn't long after Cody was born when I started talking to Dan about how much I love motherhood and love being pregnant.  I told him I thought it would be such an amazing honor to surrogate for a family who couldn't carry a pregnancy of their own.  He smiled at me and admired my big heart and that was that - just a casual conversation between a husband and a wife.
        Dan and I were not sure we were finished having our own children, so we spent the next several years watching our boys learn and grow - soaking up every bit of marriage and parenthood.  After some devastating moments in our life, Dan and I decided we wanted a bigger family - and of course I wanted to have a daughter so badly that we began to pray for God to bless us with another child.  It wasn't quite as easy getting pregnant with our next baby as it had been with Shane and Cody since Dan and I were both older, but soon enough, I found out on Mother's Day, I was pregnant again with our third child. God had other plans and brought that baby home to be with him on the day of our 7th wedding anniversary.  Those moments were extremely difficult for our family, but we grew closer through them and knew God had a plan.  On Father's Day, my husband opened up what turned out to be the best gift he could have ever received - a positive pregnancy test!  Yep - we were pregnant again, and that plan God had for us apparently involved us being the parents of TWINS.  Nine months later, we delivered two beautiful baby girls, and our family was complete...maybe :o)
        So here is the part in the story where I could easily sit back and enjoy the rest of my life with my soul-mate and our beautiful children - which would not have been a bad choice, but I have a different calling.  God has different plans for me - I can feel it in my bones.  In my moments of pure joy watching all of my children playing together I can't help but stop and think about families who, for whatever reason, cannot experience these moments of parenthood.  Sure - there are several routes couples can take in order to build a family, but most are expensive, emotionally draining, and full of "catches."  I told my husband I want to help a family have a baby with NO catches because it is the right thing to do - my intentional act of kindness.
        I just knew I would find another woman out there who has been dreaming about motherhood since she was a little girl, just like me.  Who looked forward to having children after finding the love of her life, just like me.  Who would give anything to experience every single first, with a perfect child of God, just like me.  And I found her.  And I am going to have her baby.

 I am just a regular Mom who happens to be lucky enough to give God's greatest gift to Katie and Kevin - the gift of parenthood.  I am just a regular Mom and I am their Kangaroo!!  Thank you for being a part of this experience and supporting our families as we grow together through this journey.