Moments of Motherhood: Jody | Joy

How many children do you have?
4! I birthed four kids in 5 years! They currently are 9 (Jaxon Pierce), 7 (London Rain), 5 (Ember Hope) and 4 (Phoenix Kai)

What is your favorite part about being a mom?
I love getting to experience life a 2nd time around through my kids eyes! Kids get so excited about the smallest things and I love having the mundane become exciting again as I experience life with them.

Have you always wanted to be a mom?
I always knew I wanted to be a mom and I babysat growing up, but I wasn’t dying to be a mom. I was married 8 years before I got pregnant and as soon I was pregnant, something big shifted in me and I was SO excited to be pregnant and have kids!

What was your birth experience?
I have had four different birth experiences! The first child I labored at home for 40 hours hoping for a natural, at home birth and ended up transferring to the hospital. An epidural, some rest and 10 hours later I pushed for an hour with contractions 6 minutes apart and my firstborn son finally came into the world! I had two fairly normal hospital birth experiences, but my 2nd born daughter came like a freight train, unmedicated, and was born to a fiery sunrise (very appropriate for her personality today 🙂 I was grateful to be able to experience different types of birthing experiences!

What frustrated you in the beginning that later became something you missed?
I know that sometimes getting the kids ready for bed can seem like a forever long process. That part is not my favorite… and yet, bedtime is when I have my anchor moment with each kid. Once they’re ready for bed my favorite part begins, which is snuggling with each kid, talking about our day, I sing them each their own song and then I pray with them. Sometimes I can be quick to rush it because I know I have work to get done after they go to sleep, but I don’t want to miss those moments with them!

What is something about motherhood that you will never forget?
The feeling of being pregnant and having a tiny human inside of me. It was the best.

What is something about motherhood that surprised you?
How much I loved it. I did not know how much I would LOVE being a mom. I truly delight in my kids. They are SO fun! I had 3 miscarriages prior to having my firstborn son, so I think it really helped my perspective when I got to be with my kids on this side of heaven.

How has being a mom affected your work? Work being a mom?
I really thought that I could keep up the work pace that I had before kids, but I was most definitely wrong. A red flag for me was when I would get frustrated with my son for not napping at the needed time or waking early because I had to get work done. That did not feel good so I decided to cut back work to two days a week. I was able to have days where the only thing on my to do list was my son (and eventually other kids) and then I had days where I was able to focus completely on my work for a few hours (and then take breaks and nurse my kid while our nanny watched him). That worked really well for me! I did not like trying to accomplish work and kids at the same time… I still don’t. It’s a mental struggle, for sure.

What is your favorite resource to share with other moms?
My all-time favorite book – Growing Kids God’s Way by Danny Silk. It’s the one good that has forever impacted my parenting. It’s INCREDIBLE and every parent should read this book.

What about motherhood surprised you?
How much I loved it. I did not know how much I would LOVE being a mom. I truly delight in my kids. They are SO fun! I had 3 miscarriages prior to having my firstborn son, so I think it really helped my perspective when I got to be with my kids on this side of heaven.

What is something about motherhood that completely took your breath away?
How much I could love these little humans! Other people’s kids were just okay to me growing up, and people always said it’s different when it’s your own kids, and it’s SO true. Having your own kids is AMAZING!