:Tales of Motherhood // by Kara Murano:

Motherhood is not meant to be ventured alone. We were made for community- rejoicing in victories, embracing defeat- yet never alone. As one who finds new life in the stories of others I have invited a few mama's that have walked or are walking this path of motherhood to join us in this space. My hope is that you will find encouragement today- in this moment, right where you are.

Please welcome my sweet friend Kara. I have gotten to know Kara over the last few months and have found her to be a kindred spirit.  We read a lot of the same books and have a great love for kingdom living. She is an adoptive mama to the cutest little nugget. Please give her a warm welcome. 

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before I start I have to thank the lovely Melissa for having me in her beautiful space. I always look to this blog for inspiration and mothering insight & wisdom so I am honored to share a little bit with you. 

I'm a foster-adoptive mom with an almost two year old little boy, Nolan Fox. my husband and I are currently on the waiting & approved families list waiting to be matched to another little one. being a mother has been one of the most challenging, joy-filled and amazing experience of my life.

before I was a mom I was a full time college student for five years. i was a newlywed and also working part time for all those years. i remember always thinking to myself how fast those years went by. 

but there is nothing like raising a little one and literally watching them grow before your very eyes.

time flies

days are over in the blink of an eye

moments are here & then gone

before I know it my baby is a month older

he has another tooth

he can say 10 new words

he's a little taller , a little bigger, a little funnier than the day before

I find myself hanging onto mere moments for dear life because I know how fleeting they are

nolan has taught me to slow down and to be in each moment before its gone.

this isn't always easy because it's my tendency (and maybe yours) to rush through moments because of all we have to do. there's dishes to be washed, laundry to be folded, errands to be run, and meals to be made (to name just a few things). our kids have needs that we must meet. we try to be present and loving wives. all of this leads me to pass over moments without even noticing. 

but oh has my boy changed that. my toddler has no agenda and nothing to rush to besides the playground. so when I am rushing to the car to run some errands and he stops to pick flowers and stare intently at snails instead of pulling him into my rush I follow his lead and I stop. I pick flowers and blow dandelions and stare at snails. I marvel at this once baby who is now his own little person. 

when I am loading the dishwasher or folding laundry and a good song comes on pandora he runs to be and puts his arms up because he wants to dance with me, it's so easy for me to brush him off and get back to the task at hand. but I stop & pick him up because I know that there will be a day all too soon that he won't want me to do this or he'll be too big for me to even lift. so we dance while the dishes sit in the sink.

when I'm hurrying through the store and he is waving at every single person and exclaiming WOW in his loudest outdoor voice I resist the temptation to shush him or rush through the store. I smile, I wave and I soak up his wonder at each product on the shelf. 

when dinner needs to be cooked but he wants to cuddle and sit on my lap and watch a movie I close my eyes and sniff his little head and realize that dinner can wait for a moment. 

please realize that I am not always good at this. I know that there are many moments I've missed and that some days he gets rushed to the car, and sits and watches tv while I cook dinner, and whines while I load the dishwasher.

motherhood has given me the gift of moments. 

moments that when collected over time make up my boy's  childhood and my journey as a mother

my encouragement to you is to grab those moments and enjoy the heck out of them because they'll be gone before you know it.