I am pretty new in the, “mom” realm. Currently my firstborn is two years old and my second is 7 months old. Guys, I am learning so much as I go along here. And I have so much yet to learn! I can’t help but feel like no one ever told me how hard parenting would be… Or maybe I just didn’t listen… Or maybe I didn’t believe them… Or, perhaps more likely, I thought, “I can probably do that parenting thing better than you, I’m sure it’s not that hard.” ick!

I remember people saying how hard marriage is, how hard the first year of marriage is… but in my experience becoming a mom is somehow harder than becoming, and sustaining, the status of wife (not that I am flawless in that area either). PLEASE don’t think that I am starting this blog under the delusion of giving you the answers. Lord knows that I get through each day by his beautiful grace. I don’t know what kind of mom I would be without him at the center of it all. And for the most part I don’t know what I’m doing besides just trying to do my best with these precious children God has entrusted to Lance and I.

I am starting this blog to say and admit publicly that motherhood is hard. It is hard, hard, hard! My sinful nature has never been so obvious to me as it has been in all of the days following the birth of my first child. I am impatient and I am selfish. I had always considered myself a pretty patient person, but when I came face to face with the reality of how constant a child’s needs are, I found out just how unbelievably impatient I am! I also saw how selfish I was with my time; but we’ll get into all of this in a later post.

The Why:

Why, “Tending Hearts?” I was attending a God-based conference (Pursuit Community) for women business owners; I was listening to Sara Hagerty (Sara has an incredible story and heart… check her out!)…  she was speaking to a small auditorium of moms who wanted to have a thriving business AND a thriving family. She told us that even though we were business owners we had to first and foremost, “be in the business of tending hearts,” the hearts of the children God has blessed us with shepherding. In the business of tending hearts– that phrase penetrated my heart… deeply, like an arrow shot straight and true, and it hasn’t left me. It has changed the way I mother and the way I handle my business.

No one can be a mom to my children like I can. It’s the one area in my life in which I am absolutely irreplaceable. Other people can take wedding pictures for people, they can and they do. Although wedding photography is something I love and am perhaps gifted at, I’m not necessary. I am so very important, however, in the lives of my children.

So whether you’re a mom who owns her own business or not, I want to encourage you to be in the business of tending hearts. Let it be your top priority after your relationship with God and with your husband. Know that I am here in the trenches with you and I will be the first to admit that being a mom is incredibly hard!

On this little slice of internet I will be sharing the truths that God reveals to my heart through this motherhood journey that I’m on. I’ll be sharing funny stories… like the time I told my 2 year old to eat a booger… yep, that happened, and I’ll sprinkle in some toddler-tested-and-approved recipes and projects too! I am open to this being whatever God wants it to be and I absolutely want it to be relevant to your life- so please share your blog topic requests with me through the Connect page! If I can’t speak to what you’re going through, I will try my hardest to find someone who can.

I really just want to link arms with you and walk this path together. Being a mom is hard, but there is so much joy to be had in it too. I want to laugh and cry with you and I want you to know that you are not alone.

Please know that God is in your corner too! He sees you serving your family day in and day out. He sees your late nights and your early mornings. He sees you cleaning the bathroom and dealing with the relentless laundry and dishes, out of the love you have for your family, and let me tell you- he is so pleased with you! I’m looking forward to navigating this wild, exciting, exhausting, beautiful journey with you.