This Is Me- Brianna

Remember the  "This is Me" Guest Blog Series?  Here is a wonderful post from a fellow blogger Brianna about how motherhood has changed her.  (If you get time check out her blog - you won't regret it:) )  

[My name is Brianna and I blog at Tea with Bri. I love spending time with Jesus, my family…and blogging in spare moments.]

I’ve always dreamed of being a mom. I used to line up all my dolls and read to them. I had one doll that I named Michael, and I carried him everywhere, pretending he was my little baby. As an only child, I wished I had a younger brother or sister to take care of. I’d see other children walking their siblings to school, checking in on them during recess, or rough housing with them at home and I would long to be in their shoes. I have always been fascinated by the way siblings interact, and the relationships they have with one another. I loved children, I just never had much of an opportunity to be around them.

Penelope Rose

In May 2012 my opportunity arrived. I gave birth to a beautiful little girl, and suddenly I was in the role of a life-time. I had never held a baby before. I remember holding her for the first time, so tentatively and so nervous. I was a mother, but I didn’t feel like one. It was all so surreal. I had never been around a newborn, and suddenly I was responsible for one.

Those early days were a blur. Some moments I felt completely confident, like I was the greatest mother in the world. Then something would happen, like low milk production, or a critical comment, and all my resolve would disappear.

Somehow, an entire year has nearly passed, and I still can’t believe I’m a Mom some does. But here I am, with this beautiful curly blonde-haired beauty. A little girl with a smile that melts my heart and a laugh that gets me every time. An extroverted and fun-loving child who loves to explore new places and is at ease in almost any situation.

Before I became a mother I looked at child-rearing from a selfish and child-like perspective. I wanted a child to complete me. I wanted a child to need me. I wanted a child to make me look accomplished and responsible. I wanted a child for companionship and fun.

Now, I realize that having a child means loving, disciplining, and serving a little human-being with their own wants, desires, and ambitions. Motherhood has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the little soul that God has entrusted with me. Each day I pray that I raise my child in godliness. A child that understands truth and longs to serve others.

Motherhood is nothing like I dreamed of it, because my dreams. But my dreams were flat and boring. The reality of motherhood is that as hard as it is, it is doubly rewarding. I have loved this year, watching my daughter grow to become a little toddler with a spunky personality. I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for our little family…because really, he’s been in charge all along. 

Check my blog out at Tea with Bri to find out more about our family's adventures!