To the Bonus Moms

Mother's Day.  Mother's Day is the one day I am almost guaranteed the kids will try to get along.  It's a day I know that I won't have to make dinner (YES!).  It's also become a day that I know is heartbreaking for so many people that I hold dear.

I have been blessed, unbelievably blessed, with 5 amazing daughters.  I became a mom at 23 and that was that.  For the last 9 years I have changed diapers, cleaned up sickness, attempted hairstyles, washed an insane amount of tights, looked for Bear, Peanut, Horton, and Chewy Blankets thousands of times.  Some days the highlight is bedtime.  I've removed splinters, wiped tears, read stories, snuggled just because and have been dubbed "the best mom ever."  (I believe my title has been retracted and reinstated roughly 463 times, give or take).

Every day is a gift.  One that I get to share with The Bonus Moms!  This life we lead cannot be lived alone.  God created us for community.  We need it, we crave it, we were made for it.  As a mom I am so grateful to have Bonus Moms in my life and the lives of my girls.

Bonus Mom is a term I like to think that I made up.  So... claiming it!  Bonus Moms are the women who pour into and love my kids.  They're their grandmas, church leaders, aunts, my best friends and more.

The Bonus Moms in our lives listen patiently to wacky stories without rolling their eyes.  They play Barbies at the dinner table.  They craft for hours.  They read stories because they're asked.  They feel comfortable enough to correct my kids is they're misbehaving.  They have nicknames that will be logged in our family history because they're ADORABLE.  They've held little girls with big boo boos.  They've taken them for sleepovers because it seemed fun (and gave me a much needed break).  They pull out embarrassing pictures of me as a kid.  They have pool parties knowing their floors will be filthy because my kids have to come back into the house 95 times.  They've had nail painting parties.  They have played board games so I could take a shower.  They've held my babies the day they were born.  They know how much I love good literature so they make sure to include books in gifts.  They have taught them how to bake the most amazing chocolate chip cookies.  They document our lives in pictures, both phone and professionally.  They know all of our kids weird food habits.  They have bonded over snacks.  They pray for our family.  They have seen us at our worse and at our best.

They love my daughters.  Maybe not as much as I do, and definitely in a different way.  But these women love my girls.  And I am so incredibly grateful.  So on this Mother's Day I want to say thank you to the Bonus Moms in our lives.  They don't know it yet, but they are blessed to have you!  You are becoming part of their childhood memories and I couldn't be more thrilled!