Happy Mother's Day, Anne

(Note: this is Matt writing this blog post.  I do still exist.)

Dear Anne,

Today is Mother's Day so I thought I'd take the opportunity to publicly honor/embarrass you, so here goes...

When we started dating just over 7 years ago, there were a few things I learned.  I learned that you were an amazing person, fun and smart and thoughtful.  I learned how crazy and spontaneous that you were.  I learned that you enjoyed watching Baseball Tonight with me (or at least pretended to).  Over time, I also learned that you had amazing qualities that matched up what I was looking for in a wife.  You were gracious, loving, passionate about Jesus, and a humble servant.  Your character was beyond reproach and I admired that.  So it wasn't long after that where I knew in my heart that I wanted you to be my wife and that you were the one I wanted to marry.  Years later, I can say that I have not been that surprised by our marriage and the wife that you have become.  Quite simply, I thought you would be an amazing wife and you have confirmed that time and time again.

One thing I didn't think about a lot when we were dating is what you might be like as a mother.  I mean, I could tell that you liked kids and wanted us to have kids, but it's hard to think about what someone will be like as a parent when you yourself are kind of clueless about kids.  So I didn't give much thought about it when we were dating.  It's not that I thought you wouldn't be a good mother; I just didn't think about it at all.

2 years into our marriage, something radical changed when we had Grace in April 2009.  That was when you became not only my wife, but the mother of our children.  Part of me wondered what would happen to you as I knew that becoming a mother is life-changing.  Since that day, I continue to be surprised and amazed often by who you are as a mother.  I mean, it's one thing for you to love me -- I am pretty awesome, relatively handsome, and I eat 2-3 types of vegetables.  But to see the depths of your love for our children, and to see the amount of energy you put in to raising them, that completely floors me.  So now I think about how you are as a mother all the time and I have concluded this: you are an amazing mother and I hope you know that I mean that with all of my heart.

I know the days with the kids in this season of life can feel mundane from time-to-time.  And there are days where you work tirelessly and feel drained and sometimes it doesn't feel exciting.  But I want you to know this -- I notice.  I don't take you for granted.  I know how much of a treasure you are.  I know how faithful you are.  I know how much your heart longs for the joy of our children and how much you want to see them grow up to love Jesus.  I see it.  And I hope you know how much our kids adore  you.  I see it in their faces when they run to you for a hug.  I see it in their smiles when you are teaching/feeding/clothing/playing with them.  I see it in their desperation as they cling to you when they're upset/crying/sad.  I see the joy that you bring to them every single day.  You are adored by them (and by me).  Thanks for being a more amazing mother to our kids than I could have ever imagined.

"Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her" -- Proverbs 31:28

Love,

Matt