(I wrote this blog back in May, but things have just been so busy, too busy, to actually post it with the photos.)
The days flow by, sometimes like a cool small spring and sometimes like a raging river.
I think we’re in one of those raging river kind of seasons.
As one day ends and the next begins, we are faced with something new!
This past week, we warmed Joshua’s home with a house-warming. Our church family gathered (along with my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and nephews), as we enjoyed a fun afternoon in his new home.
It’s no secret that he used this time to propose marriage to a very sweet young woman:
I’m shocked to know I’m old enough to be the mom of a son soon to be married.
It’s hard to believe this little one that I wanted so much and that grew inside of me has gone on to start a life and a family of his own.
We’re excited as he begins a new chapter of his life…
I’m a little sad, too. It’s hard to not have him here each morning. No more John Denver, or Irish Rovers streaming from the bathroom while he showers.
I’m not smelling the fancy coffee brewing in the kitchen. I’m not walking into the living room to see his long legs propped up on the table as he works.
I don’t smell the pizza covered in peppers as he comes in after stepping out for lunch.
…and there are so many other memories. …listening to him at 4 years talking with his dad about the Lord. …”girl traps” *smile* he and Jacob used to set for Courtney and Jessica ….pvc sword fights with Jacob in the front yard ….holding his tiny hand for the first time the night I had him ….his little bottom lip all stuck out when he would pout as a little boy (*swoon*) ….pacing a hospital floor as they re-set a broken arm ….dressing him for his first cub scout meeting ….listening to him recite EVERY SINGLE LINE in a church play (he hadn’t just memorized his lines, he had memorized THE ENTIRE PLAY), and on and on….
It’s funny, the precious memories a mother stores within her heart.
Where have these years gone? They pass all too fast.
I’m proud of him. I’m thankful to God, as I feel so broken and so unworthy of the lives with which the Lord has given to me, that He chose *me* to be their mama.
I think I see him as a miracle, of sorts. Though his father first taught me what it was to live with a man who loved the Lord and loved his family, Joshua has given me an opportunity to see a man grow. He has taught me to appreciate how they differ from women.
The years have not been without little bumps in the road here and there…but, I have loved *every single minute*.
Please be praying for these young people as they begin a life of their own.
These are photos from his open house/engagement:
