trying mommy-hood on

this past week has been filled with our darling nieces
between baby elena visiting with abby
and tending kennady for the weekend,
i felt as though i was trying on mommy pants.

when i was a nanny 5 years ago i learned the balancing act
but every night i handed them back to their parents.
and even though i loved those boys as much as possible...
these darling girls are family.

each day as elena and abby spend time at the store
i'm learning how to tend her while trying to balance manager duties.
the benefit of working with family is the chance to figure it out.
i begin to question if it is something i can continue when the time comes to have our own precious little ones.

the real adventure might have been having kennady and elena at the same time.
but somewhere deep inside....
i enjoyed each moment.

taking kennady out with me to feed the calf,
tend to the pigs and give the chickens over ripe tomatoes was easily one of the highlights of saturday.
imagining the future of teaching our {someday} children farm chores
and endless other things of importance has me looking to the future with eagerness.

i found myself with a new level of patience and energy during the hours and days with each niece.
watching mitchel tend to elena one evening warmed my heart.
i look forward to the day i look over and see him tending to our little one.

sunday evening after ashley picked up kennady,
i looked at mitch and told him motherhood looks good on me.
he responded "yes, but i'm so worn out"