:thoughts on motherhood // the one on one project:

he woke up a few minutes before seven like he always does. the girls we had to drag out of bed sleepy-eyed for breakfast. after yogurt and cheerios were consumed i helped tiny feet through the holes of pants, combed hair and gave a tight squeeze to each one. all three were loaded into our car and the girls dropped off at grandma's. 

we could have left them all there for the day. they love grandma and she loves them and every parent needs a little time to themselves. yet we didn't. we invited the boy to spend the day with us. we want to know our children more so we are taking strides to spend time with them one-on-one. the little guy was excited for a day with mom and dad. he was not, however, excited about the long-time road, a.k.a. the interstate, we would be taking to our destination. 

rain fell heavy the entire day.

we wanted to eat at our favorite restaurant but ran out of time and there is always a wait. jacob dropped us at the door of another restaurant because he is always teaching that boy what it looks like to care for a family. he doesn't say it. he just lives it on the daily. working hard. loving well. giving of self. laughing & playing & bringing joy to those around him.

while we waited on daddy to park the car we snuggled and watched the rain. he's nearly five and i know these things are fleeting. so i held him tight and breathed a prayer of thanks for a moment such as this. a moment of him and only him. a moment of peace. a moment frozen in time, burned in my memory. 

this is us on the journey of parenthood. it's messy and ugly and also holy and gloriously beautiful if we have eyes to see it.

how do you manage one-on-one time with your little ones?