Hope ya know...

we had a hard time. There was a talk given not too long ago about how a family's stuggles and their perseverance. Everytime they struggled, they would pray to God, "Hope ya know, we had a hard time." In the past few months years, I've found myself saying that same phrase to God.

But happy day - Jeff and I were accepted to get our master's! We were so thrilled and over joyed, we scooped up maddie and danced around with her around the house. Then it hit me, our hard time is far from over. Grad school will continue to bring struggles, and who know how we'll manage papers and research and homework on top of work and dishes and diapers?

So to Maddie,

I hope ya know we had a hard time. I hope you know that when you were a baby, you didn't have any fancy toys, or perfectly matching outfits. You didn't have your own room with perfectly planned decor. You did, however, have kitchen pots and pans to play with, lovingly worn hand-me down, and a crib right next to our bed.

While I'm going to grad school, I hope you know the sleepless nights I'll have. The meals I skipped while making your own. The days I chose to stay up all night finishing a paper because I wanted to rock you to sleep before.

I hope you grow up knowing how important family and education is. And how unimportant the other things are. I hope one day you realize just how much we sacrificed to get our education, so we could provide for you and set an example for you. You continue to inspire me to be a better person in every way.

You are smart. You are [so] loved. You are important.