in {her} shoes…me

my name is andie.
crayon freckles is my blog.
it is named after my 2 kiddos.
Pip is 15 with red hair and freckles.
Bear is 3 and never slows down.

i always knew i wanted to be a mom.
i was certain of that fact,
          but not so much about being a wife.
after two miscarriages, we were finally blessed
      with my little Bear.
the day he was born changed my life forever.

when Bear was born in 2008,
         our family was reborn as well.
we all came together in a way that
                          we never had before.
never did i know love like this could exist.
but, does this child ever have a strong spirit.
God has bestowed him with energy and
            persistence that know no bounds.
staying at home with him is unbelievable.
i am so grateful that God has
               enabled our family to do this.
we spend our days playing, creating, and learning
        as i home-preschool him 
                           (in a very unstructured way).

rarely does it come up
                   that Pip is not biologically mine.
she came to live with us fulltime after
     hurricane katrina severely damaged the city
           she lived in with her biological mother.
       we had the typical cinderella/evil stepmother battles.
life was rough for a while
             until she realized that i wasn’t going anywhere.
she has such a loving, soft heart.

my faith and values are extremely influencial
         in how i raise my children.
extremely liberal in my early 20swhen we faced the possibility of
             losing Pip back to her biological,
             my faith increased tenfold.

while pregnant with Bear,
      it continued to grow.
the first day home from the hospital,
       i caught the reflection in the mirror with him.
it was then that i realized what God did for me.
    he sacrificed his son for me, what an amazing act.
we started going to church regularly from then.
     our pastor is amazing and
        puts a huge smile on my kiddos’ faces.
i am continually striving to bring glory to God
   and do what he asks of me.
   i want to share the gifts he’s given me,
            but that too is often a struggle.
he has blessed me with some amazing friends
     that continually move me and encourage me
     to keep on that positive path and
     not be discouraged. 
 i suppose the bottom line in my mommyhood is
                                 that God is good.
life is hectic,
   but as time goes by he continues to show me
    his plan
      for me as a
          woman of faith,
          a wife,
          a friend,
          and a mother.