lovemakesroom

My very first Mother’s Day weekend with actual little humans in my house instead of just fur babies. And honestly? I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on that this week.

This morning started with little footsteps and whispers before the sun was fully up. I heard the kids sneak into FD6’s room, Alexa started blaring music, and before long there was a full blown dance party happening across the hallway. I got up to make sure nobody was hurt or destroying the house… but once I realized they were okay, I crawled back into bed for a little while. I didn’t really sleep, but it felt nice not having to immediately jump into chaos the second my eyes opened.

Eventually the day started rolling like it always does. Breakfast. Hair. Teeth brushing. Cough medicine. Allergy medicine. Daily vitamins. Shoes somehow disappearing. The usual.

Dropped FD6 at school, then FS3 and I made our little gas station run before work for drinks and snacks. He did surprisingly good at work today… until around noon when it became VERY obvious the tiny human was running on fumes. I called it a day, got him home, tucked a crying overtired little boy into bed, and he was asleep within about three minutes flat. Maybe five max.

After naps we loaded back up, grabbed FS15, picked up FD6 from school, and headed to Wenatchee to grab birthday food for FD6’s upcoming birthday. We met FS15’s girlfriend for barbecue dinner which was absolutely delicious… although the younger two strongly disagreed, so naturally we ended up making a second stop through McDonald’s because parenting is basically just running a tiny, emotionally unstable food service business.

On the way home we dropped dinner off to Wiley at the Gorge. Somewhere on the drive back FS3 became convinced he saw an ice cream truck. It was actually a taco truck… which honestly feels like a toddler level betrayal. But then, right as we were almost home, we spotted the REAL ice cream truck. So naturally we followed it across town like people with absolutely no self control and got ice cream.

And honestly… moments like that are what I’ll remember someday.

The messy car. The sticky hands. The late bedtime. The chaos. The dance parties. The snack negotiations. The exhaustion.

Normally our family does “Reset Sunday” where we put the house back together before the week starts, but since Wiley is working all weekend out at the Gorge, I think we’re shifting it to Reset Saturday so Sunday can just be quiet. Peaceful. A breath before another busy week of court dates, birthdays, school, work, daycare runs, appointments, laundry, dishes, and all the other moving pieces that come with building a life around children who need stability and love.

And the more I sit and reread my journal entries from the last month, the more emotional I get realizing just how much our relationships with each of these kids has grown.

The way they reach for us now.
The way they tell us stories.
The way they seek comfort.
The way they trust us more.

It’s exhausting sometimes. It’s frustrating sometimes. I’m sure someday it’ll be heartbreaking too. But if you allow yourself to really see it for what it is… it’s also incredibly rewarding.

These kids are funny. Smart. Resilient. Loving. Chaotic. Beautiful little humans who deserve every good thing life can offer them.

So this Mother’s Day feels a little different this year.

Not perfect. Not glamorous. Not quiet.

But full.
Full of little voices.
Full of healing.
Full of growth.
Full of love making room in places I didn’t even realize still felt empty. 🤍