Unconditionally:

Generally, I get so wrapped up in the day-to-day of taking care of two little ones that I forget what I'm actually doing, or rather, what the significance of it all is. Many hours of the day I feel like I'm juggling children. Sit Vanessa-Kate down on the kitchen floor, pour Ian's apple juice, pick Vanessa-Kate up, feed her, slip her into a blanket once she's asleep so that I can hold Ian's hand while he falls asleep, etc. It's like I'm taking turns satisfying each of their needs.

But then I stop and realize that it's all so significant through their eyes, especially Vanessa-Kate's. I forget that they lean on me for pretty much everything. I forget how it must feel to rely on someone to meet your every need because you can't do so yourself.

Then it's so easy to appreciate. Isn't it amazing how much our children need us? In Vanessa-Kate's eyes, I am the world. I am her rock of comfort, her source of nourishment, and her care taker. When she cries, she's crying because she needs me, because she loves me, deeply and unconditionally. She is my baby, and I am her Mother, and in so many ways, she is still a part of me, still a heart beating inside me.

Today I am thankful that I am a Mother.