To my Daughters on Our First Mother's Day...

Dear Amelia and Mae Parker,

In seven short months, you have changed my life and my world…forever. I’ve said it over and over again, you are our answered prayers. You were just what God knew we needed. A year ago I was excited to celebrate Mother’s Day as I carried both of you, but still very anxious as to HOW we were going to make everything work with twins! TWO babies. I still just hadn’t quite grasped the whole concept at that point.

If we’re being totally honest, I still didn’t have a clue the day you were born, but I prayed A LOT. And I knew we had A LOT of family and friends in our corner for support and encouragement, so my mantra for the 6 months that I knew we had TWO on the quickly became and always was, “We’ll just figure it out.” You know what? That’s exactly what we’ve done every day since October 2^nd. We’ve just figured it out. Figured out life with preemies that you have to leave behind at the hospital while you go home. Figured out life at home with 2 newborn babies. Figured out a day to day schedule on my own with 2 newborn babies after your dad went back to work. Figured out life “outside the bubble”, once we were past the critical phase the hospital warned us about taking preemies out into the world. Figured out life as a full time working mom once my maternity leave was over. Figured out life around an unexpected, major nearly 8 week home repair / remodel. Figured out life with the added expense of TWO babies…you girls aren’t cheap, but we make it work.

Celebrating Mother’s Day this year, means having pictures made with me and MY daughters…MY babies. There were days that I wasn’t sure if this day would ever come. Days that I wondered if I would be a mom. Days that I accepted that if I wasn’t a mom to my own children, I would always have two perfect nephews that I could play a 2^nd mom to. Days that I cried myself to sleep longing for just one child…just one. Our God is a God of Abundance.

We cannot brag enough about what GOOD babies you both are and always have been. We can’t really complain about lack of sleep because you’ve both always been relatively good nighttime sleepers. We can’t brag about your eating habits or lack there of, because you’ve both always eaten very well. We can’t complain about your incessant crying, because you only really cry when you’re really hungry or really sleepy. There’s been no colic, no acid reflux, no formula changing. You’re just GOOD babies. I like to think that God knew if he was giving us two, that he’d give us a break and give us two really good ones!

While this day is about my role as a Mother, I wouldn’t have this role without the ones who gave me the title. This day is about you too, and as far as I’m concerned it always will be. I hope that maybe when you’re older we can celebrate just the 3 of us with a weekend girls’ trip or just something special for the three of us. I am HONORED to be your mom. I look at you after you fall asleep and still CANNOT believe that you are mine. I stare at you and wonder who you will be when you grow up. What will your voice sound like? Who will be your best friend? How will you be a blessing to others around you? I stare at you and desperately pray that you’ll always need me. I know your level of dependence will lessen as you grow, that’s natural. But I want to know that you need me…you need your mom. I prayed for you for so long, and carried you and nurtured you…two of you…at the same time…that’s important to remember, ha. As much as I want you to always need me, you should know that I need you just the same. I’m not a mom without you…you are forever part of me.

You are my greatest accomplishments, my biggest obsessions, my prettiest blessings. You are without a doubt, my everything. You’ve just been here for 7 months and yet, I can’t imagine life without you and it’s hard to remember what our life was like before you. You’ve changed our worlds.

I’ll love you forever, AG and MP!

Love,

Your Mom