I am a mommy.

Four of my favorite words. Especially yesterday.

I celebrated my very first Mother's Day! 

I am a mommy, after all :).

I have to give a special shout-out to my very own mama-belle (hehe, she secretly hates it when I call her that). But I love it. She is a beauty, inside and out. She is steady and confident and radiates her Savior's love in a way I've always cherished and admired. Thank you, Mama, for setting such a beautiful standard for me. You truly are so graceful in your mommyhood. I hope I can be half as graceful in mine.

I love you to the moon.

As I ponder being a mom, the word "transparency" keeps coming to mind. One day my "mommyhood" will become more real, more tangible. The day Nolan is in our arms and meets us face to face, I can only imagine all of the emotions we will feel. But I pray that from day one, I carry a transparency and vulnerability as a mom that reveals not my need to do better. Not my need to be a good mom. But my constant need for a Savior. I pray that I'm not afraid to fail in front of my husband and my son. But instead, my hope is that I'll be a mom who practices repentance. And that the Gospel will prevail in our home. It's a bold prayer, but it's a deep desire in my heart for our family. May we always strive to rest in what Christ has already done for us on that cross.

I'll close with a few highlights from my Mother's Day (but weekend-long) celebration. 

On Saturday we hit the beach for several hours (Nolan's first beach trip!) to watch friends play in a (legit) volleyball tournament.

(Side note: I may have been a little too excited to try out my new bathing suit!) 

And Sunday consisted of:

 breakfast in bed

seafood at Fiddler's

and a relaxing evening at home (power outages and all).

And all with my handsome baby-daddy.

Oh...and my first Mother's Day gift? It was definitely a surprise since we had promised no gifts. But...considering it brought me to tears and filled my heart with more joy than it could handle...I guess I can let this broken promise slide ;). 

I love you too, sweet boy.