With motherhood comes more than we could ever imagine. It opens up a whole new range of emotions we weren’t even aware existed. We worry about things like the regularity of another human, and we hold magic powers in our lips when we kiss those “ouchies”. We run ourselves down with worry after worry of if we are raising these humans to be decent people. We over-analyze and we constantly pray “please let this be a phase”. It’s the most exhausting, wonderful, roller coaster of a job in the world.

But with all that comes so many little things that we become thankful for. We’re thankful when the baby sleeps through the night for the first time (SO thankful)! We’re thankful for the big milestones, and even for the little things that may seem silly. The truth is, I’m thankful for a little stuffed pig from Ikea. When we had to travel for even more doctor appointments for our two year old, we killed a couple hours at Ikea, and he left with a stuffed pig named Bacon.

Bacon has gone with him to every appointment, every blood draw, every scan, and every follow-up. That little pig is worth his weight in gold, because of the comfort and strength he brings our toddler in this scary time. If five years ago you would have told me how thankful I was for a stuffed pig, I would have laughed at you and probably wondered what in the heck my future would hold that would make me thankful for that. But that’s the beauty of motherhood. It’s so messy, and scary, and exhausting, that we rejoice in these little blessings no matter how small or silly they may seem.