the kids who made me want to have kids.

I'd like to introduce you to my three favorites.

I started babysitting for Luke, Brennan, and Hudson when I was a sophomore in college, being lucky enough to get linked up with their family through a mutual friend. What started out as a summer nannying job would end up being the beginning of a super fun and, for me, growing experience.

I've always wanted to have kids, but there has also been this nagging in the back of my brain that I had no idea what I was talking about. That I had the fairytale version of being a mom, but that once the reality set in, I'd be terrible at it. That's where these three hooligans come in :)

Strong willed, passionate, hilarious, and all boy-through and through. All three of them are alike and different in so many ways. They all got their daddy's athletic ability and their mama's temperament. They say no and don't listen sometimes, and it's enough to make you crazy. But the good that they unknowingly poured into my life for the last 4 years supersedes any amount of frustration over how long it took to take a bath. Yes, I learned patience and how to love someone even when they're being unlovable, but they also helped remind me how to have fun 24/7, even if it's raining; how to make the best living room forts; and "Jesus is the King...not Elvis" {according to Luke}.

Even though they're all boy and in 5 years will want to kill me for saying this, they are-hands down-the best cuddlers/affections show-ers around. And usually without knowing it, they have the wit to turn a not-so-great morning into gold with their stories that start the second I walk in the door.

I've watched them go from shaggy to short, from 1, 4, & 5 to 4, 7, & 8 {stop growing up PLEASE!}. This is the first summer in 4 years that I'm not spending in the pool, in the yard, and on the couch with them, and I miss it every day. I'm so thankful to have gotten the chance to spend the years I did with them, and to learn from them that maybe I'll actually be a pretty okay mom one day.

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& just for funsies, this is my favorite picture I've ever taken of Lukey Bear. So. Much. Joy.