Holy Moly...

So I know it has been about a month since I posted, but life has been crazy! I am only posting now because I am not exhausted and both girls are asleep...the house is quiet.

Amelia Jo is almost two-months old now. Claire is almost 2 and a half years old and my little sister is married.

May went by in a whirlwind. I was trying to get the hang of mothering two (which I am still trying to get the hang of by the way), planning a bachelorette party for my little sister, and working off some baby weight in order to cram myself into a bridesmaids' dress (which I did fit into--barely).

I love Claire, I love Amelia, and I cannot imagine my life without either of those little boogers, but parenting two is a daily hourly minute-by-minute challenge (and I can only imagine that with each successive child the challenge just continues to grow). It is such a weird place to find yourself. Absolutely loving your life and loathing it simultaneously. I don't mean literally loathing life, but there are definitely moments when I think, "How did I get myself into this mess?" Of course, there are also moments when I think, "How did I get blessed with this mess?" I mean seriously. I have two of the most precious baby girls (and a fabulous husband; who happens to be the world's best daddy too).

Claire is in the middle of her second year. It is a really fun time to be her mother AND it is a really difficult time to be her mother. I am so glad that the Lord's mercies are new each morning because boy do I need it. I do not get enough sleep (Amelia needs to eat at night) and my patience just wears thinner and thinner throughout the day. There are many nights that I go to bed feeling like I have absolutely failed at mothering Claire. Luckily, she is pretty forgiving at this age. I do wonder (and worry) if our nap time (and other) power struggles are going to have lasting harmful effects on her and/or our relationship. Surely other parents worry about this - I can only hope I am not the only one. Even though we have our fair share of stand-offs throughout most days, we have some really precious moments too.

Amelia is such a good baby. She naps. She eats. She is growing SO quickly. I never had those "she is getting too big too fast" moments with Claire. I was always just so glad she was gaining weight (we had trouble with that in the first few months), but Amelia is a different baby entirely. I am pretty sure she is just average sized, but she is wearing clothes that Claire didn't fit into until she was five months old; and she is not even two months old! Also, Amelia is a snuggler - Claire never really was - so I am cherishing my little snuggle bug. : ) I really cannot imagine our lives without Amelia. She is such a sweet blessing and has wiggled her way into my heart right next to her sister. I still cannot fathom how one heart can hold so much love, but my love for these girls just continues to grow.

God gives us so much more grace than we deserve (because we deserve none), but I cannot remember a time when I have been more aware of that fact than during this season of my life.

So, in order to not make this the world's longest post, I am going to break this up into two posts. Dorothy's wedding weekend to follow.