Over the Fireplace

When we first remodeled our kitchen, I had a whole slew of ideas on how I wanted to decorate it. I had boxes and boxes of decorations that I'd collected over the course of my marriage, and I couldn't wait to get them up and around our new space.

Then I had my baby. And, he pushed all ideas of decorating right to the back burner. Where, quite frankly, they belonged - as I adjusted to life with him as part of our family.

But, this past week, I finally did something I've wanted to do since the first time I crawled out of the back seat of our realtor's car, walked hand in hand with my husband into what would become our home, and saw the kitchen.

I hung their photos above the fireplace.

Photos that I, their Momma, took of each of them in moments when their expressions captured the spirit of who they are.

And, whether I'm sitting on a chair nursing the baby while my older boys coat the floor below them with crumbs...

Or pouring my first morning cup of coffee before the sun has even risen...

When I look up, I see their faces.

The beautiful, sweet-cheeked gifts that make everything I do - absolutely, positively, exhaustingly - worth it.