Hope

A child fills the home with....

Scarves, coats, gloves, and hats laying at the bottom of the steps waiting to be put away at the end of the day. Reminding you of their rosy cheeks while they smiled from ear to ear in the car telling you how much fun they had at the park.

Toys scattered on the ground. The one hundred too many that you own. Reminding you not to buy a single toy ever again because they'd rather play with the water bottles or the pots and pans. But you still do anyway.

Blocks that you periodically step on. Reminding you of how beautiful a child's imagination is. The castles they build. The "homes" they create. And the pain in your foot. 

Surprises underneath the couch. Reminding you to look there more often before things like spoiled milk stenches up your home.

Not to mention the surprises in the couches. Sophie, the Giraffe. Reminding you of the days when this little rubber toy would light up their world. A crayon. A sock. A cracker. Reminding you to never buy nice furniture again.

Baby gates that you have to lift your leg ridiculously high over. Reminding you that you probably need to work out a little more. That and you are getting old.

Crumbs on the floor that you hurry to try to push underneath the couch when an unexpected guest comes over for a play date. That same couch that you remind yourself to look under more often.

A home that also includes your car which you swear contains your life in. So that's where those shoes have been all along. The ones we searched high and low for months.  And the tap shoes, reminding you that Saturday will be here soon. That your daughter will be dancing {most likely running} around like a ballerina.

Foot prints on the car seat from your toddler climbing in Making you ask yourself when the last time you actually cleaned this car that used to hold your designer bags, your shoes from the night before, and clothes that may very well have dust on them for all they do is hang in your clost.

Sass, tantrums, and a whole lot of defiance. As they grow older, the challenges that we face as they learn consequences, right from wrong, and rules of the world. The crying out of nowhere, the whining for every little thing, and the thought process that they are much older and wiser than they are. So they think.

But most importantly... A child fills the home with:

Love. Undeniable, amazing, beautiful love. The way they hold you. The way they need you. The way they ask for you. Smile at you. Look up to you as though you are a celebrity. They are our biggest fans and its the greatest kind of love on Earth.

Laughter. The belly giggles. The sneaky giggles. The what in the world are those little legs doing and little arms swinging at giggles. The ones that can change your mood in a split second. Where you want to be mad, you want to hold your ground, and then they do it to you. They throw you that smile or giggle at something ridiculous and you just let it all go. And the great thing about it? It never gets old.

Happiness. Something about these children is truly infectious. No matter how upset, no matter how tired, no matter how frustrated you might be with your cable.... these little ones fill the home with happiness. They are infectious around you. All they live for is happiness. And as a result, they want to fill you up with it too.

Memories. Everything around you is a constant reminder. "Look honey, that's where E took her first steps." And look, that high chair in the corner, the one E smashed her little face in. The same one that G will soon be put in to enjoy his first "real" meal. The onesies that you pack up. Those remind you of how fast they grow. The shoes that you sell at the garage sale. Remind you of their first steps they took. Everything seems to be a constant memory.

Lastly, they fill the home with:

Hope. Hope for a better tomorrow and a brighter future. When I look at my children, I see hope. I hope that they continue to grow to see the world for the good that it can be. Carry a bit of their innocence along the way. To encourage others, help them, and model the morals and values that we believe in.

I have hope. And it's in the form of these two children.

They give me hope for a better tomorrow.