Love. It.

I love that Elijah calls me, "Mama." It's his own way of saying my name. His unique style. Isaac is purely "Mommy." And I love the differnce.

I love that when the boys get in the tub, Isaac always gets to sit under the water simply because he is the big brother. Elijah accepts this almost always without complaint. I love that Isaac will say, "Need it hotter, Mommy." I spend the entire bath knocking it slightly warmer. Sometimes he will also ask for "Need it hotter, smaller Mommy." This means he wants it hotter but not coming out so fast (so he can fill up his yellow bowl to "make coffee like Joni and Grama Di.")

I love Elijah saying, "Mama, come." He takes me by the finger to various places where he wants me to play with him: leggos, trains, books, you name it. He also brings me legos he builds. He'll hand it to me and say, "For you!" and I'll say, "For meeeee?" And he'll just get this big smile and repeat himself. "For you!" Then I tell him I love it and then he often asks for it back.

I love that Isaac has his very special bedtime routine with JB. A derivation usually results in tears that means JB has to come back to complete this missed item. If JB forgets to do "rock a bye baby" or pray with both boys on each knee, Isaac reminds him. We must read our Bible and our devotional. We must say "See you in the morning" just as the door shuts.

There are tiring parts of being a mom. There are parts that make me weary. But the things that make me happiest are the tiny, little things. I am truly happy when JB is holding the boys and they are laughing uncontrollably, unable to hold that in. That laughter doesn't come from DNA. It comes froma father and a son -- adopted or biological.

Love. It.