Above & Beyond

With our life moving right along as new parents & almost new homeowners, I wanted to take the time to write a special post about how grateful I am to have such wonderful parents.
I never realized what it truly meant to be a parent until I became one myself. Sadly, growing up I took for granite all the amazing things my parents did and gave up for both me & my older sister. I've now realized that growing up we never had a lot of money, because my parents made huge sacrifices for my mom to be able to stay home with us girls. I honestly never knew what it meant to give up everything just to do what's best for your family. I just assumed my mom staying home was what every mom did & was just part of life, luckily for us it was.
My parents made sure not only that we never did without the necessities but they also taught us that morals, values, education, & health are all extremely important things in life. Putting children first, loving your family, getting good grades, going to college & even making sure we had healthy homemade meals everyday were just a way of life for us. They knew that being a parent was more than just putting a roof over our heads.
When I think about all the things we did together & they did for us, I'm sad I didn't enjoy it more & wish I did not take it all for granite. We used to get so embarrassed when my mom would stop on the side of the road & pick up things like furniture that people put out by the garbage. Little did we know, that we just didn't have the money for things like a dresser or mirrors. We lived in homemade clothes, slept on homemade blankets, we played with homemade wooden toys & swung on our homemade swing set. To be honest, we didn't even know the difference (well until we got into high school) & we truly enjoyed everything we had. My parents were the original extreme couponers & pinterest crafters! Even though things were super tight, we never went without & we also never knew that we were anything but ordinary.
My mom & dad did what they had to do for us and there is no way in the world that I will ever be able to repay them or thank them for that. I instantly knew that being at home is truly the most important thing for my family & I would gladly give up anything to continue to do so. My mom & dad showed me that being a parent isn't about money or being able to buy things, but that it's about unconditionally loving your children & helping them in any possible way.
Even today, at my ripe age of 27 years old, my parents still continue to give up things just so I can have things that I want & need. They go out of their way to make sure that my family doesn't have the same struggles that they did. We would not have been able to get our home without their support, they truly leave me speechless on how above & beyond they have gone for us. They not only put my needs ahead of theirs, but they put my son's & husband's as well. I'm not saying that my parents are perfect, but they have taught me that making sacrifices for your own children is what parents should do without even second guessing it. I hope that Ben & I are able to be half the parents that they are & we can also teach Barrett the important things in life. They are not only supportive, loving, selfless parents, but they are also amazing grandparents. We are truly lucky to have you as Barrett's grandparents! Thank you for being such a huge part of Barrett's life & being there for ever milestone.