And Then There Was You

Our Keepsake Journal is Here! 🎉

I always thought the important things in life were being hard-working and successful at my job.

And then there was you.

I always though looking my best, being fit, skinny, and pretty was the goal in life.

And then there was you.

I always thought my happiness and my husband’s happiness was the main goal in life.

And then there was you.

I always thought having a clean house, swept floors, tidy cupboards was important.

And then there was you.

I always thought spending money on outfits, a fresh new blowout, having my nails done was my idea of feeling good.

And then there was you.

You came into my life and made me see—you are the most important thing in my life.

Having you in my arms, regardless of my post-baby body is the most beautiful thing about me.

Knowing we created this little piece of perfection is the most attractive thing about me.

Your happiness and joy is our happiness and joy.

A house filled with dust, dirt, toys and a dirty sink makes me smile, knowing this house is filled with love and laughter, that we live and play with you each day.

The money we’re spend grows with each passing month that you grow, and makes me excited to know that you are growing more and more into the beautiful boy God has granted you to be.

You have made me see what life was then is not what our lives are now, and for that I am the happiest person alive.

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

Order Now

So God Made a Mother's Story Keepsake Journal

Her View Shop

Kathryn Malherbe

I'm a mammographer and sonographer residing in Pretoria, South Africa. I just finished my Master's degree in Diagnostic Radiography on improving the diagnosis of Lobular Carcinoma of the breast, which tends to be missed during annual mammogram screening of patients. I'm 32-years-old and we have two loving "furkids" Thatcher and Lily our two Golden Retrievers.

May is Complete Mayhem: 8 Tips for Making it Through

In: Motherhood

Light up sign that says "You got this" with the word "May" on the table

Dear moms, Before I had kids, I didn’t know about the turbulence in the chaotic month of May, the most wonderful season that feels busier than decking the halls during the holidays. Before I had school-age kids, I didn’t realize how the launching from winter to summer would center around April’s Spring Break, and the countdown to the end of the school year would launch before I was ever ready. Back then, I didn’t know you needed to arrange summer plans, summer childcare, and summer camps by February. I didn’t know you needed to contemplate summer in the middle of...

Keep Reading

Getting Glasses Can be an Adjustment

In: Kids, Motherhood, Teen, Tween

On their last break from school, my daughter and son happily enjoyed a nice week of catching up with friends and having a relaxed schedule. I was careful to avoid overloading our schedule so we had a nice balance of days out and days being at home. As can often happen on a school break, I used one day as our “appointments day.” We had our routine dental checks and eye exams booked. The morning went smoothly with the dentist, and then it was time to head home for lunch. Next, we popped back out to do the children’s eye...

Keep Reading

To the Military Spouses Making it Work

In: Living, Marriage, Motherhood

Military spouses hug with child hugging legs

Last night, after I’d read the first half of the same two board books over and over to the twins and settled them in their cribs, I laced up my running shoes and ran out into the hot night. Dusk was collecting beneath the blackberry bushes and clusters of fireflies were testing their flashers in the tree line. Even the breeze, frothing up the treetops, felt like the opening of an oven on my face. I made it all the way around the lake before the path disappeared in the dark. David had just finished reading Little House on the...

Keep Reading

To the Fifth Grade Parents: Thank You

In: Child, Kids, Motherhood

To the fifth-grade parents in my community: How are we here already? The end of fifth grade. The end of elementary school. It feels like yesterday we saw each other at kindergarten drop off, some of us through the tears of sending our first baby to school, some seasoned pros, and a small group of us with a touch of extra worry in our mama hearts—the special ed mamas. Among the many things I worried about sending my kindergarten son to school was how your children would treat him. Would they laugh at him like they did at his Montessori...

Keep Reading

I’m in My 40s and I’m Utterly Exhausted

In: Living, Motherhood

Exhausted woman wearing glasses sitting at kitchen table

It’s 2024, and I just turned 41, and I feel like I’m permanently stuck in a hamster wheel. I’m a working mom of four kids reading the news daily, feeling gut-wrenched about the recent ruling in Alabama, sending women who have undergone IVF into a state of anxiety about the state of their embryos. We’re in an election year, which means campaign rhetoric and dramatic claims about the future of our democracy run in the background with increasing urgency. We face a constant struggle to both stay informed and also keep a healthy distance for our mental health. I work full-time remotely,...

Keep Reading

The Baby I Held is Battling Addiction and I’ll Never Stop Loving Her

In: Grown Children, Living, Motherhood

Woman looking into the distance, back view, black and white photo

A simple text came today: She was arrested in court. Five words that have the power to change a life forever. As her mother, I never wanted this path for her life. I remember holding her as a newborn, breathing in her baby scent, rubbing her brown hair that stuck up in every direction. I’m sure she was the smartest baby ever born, one who quickly grew into a precious toddler. She would sing her ABCs over and over, the first of many things she would memorize, always amazing us. She started school early, again because she was so smart...

Keep Reading

Raising a Deaf Child is Transformative

In: Motherhood

My two-and-a-half-year-old stumbles and falls, instinctively signing “momma” in American Sign Language, tears streaming down his cheeks as he cries out for comfort. Onlookers are amused and amazed at his ease of communication amidst the chaos. Their fascination grows as they observe the remarkable clarity of my toddler’s verbal communication, despite his deafness and reliance on bilateral cochlear implants. My son was born when my daughter was nearly two-and-a-half years old. I believed I had already grasped the challenges of parenting, thinking the arrival of the second child would be smoother. After a seamless delivery at the hospital, we eagerly...

Keep Reading

“Mama, What’s Hope?”

In: Living, Motherhood

“Mama, what’s hope?” my 5-year-old asked when we reached the end of his favorite book. Well, less of a book and more of a primer. There isn’t a story to it; instead, the pages are filled with colorful illustrations of Star Wars creatures, characters, and transports along with their names. The final pages feature the words “fear” and “hope.” Fear accompanies the masked villains, illuminated red lightsabers, and a dark color scheme. But hope has a brighter, inviting color scheme. It has twice as many people, bright blue and green lightsabers, and lots of smiles. He didn’t need to ask...

Keep Reading

Same Initial Sibset? Yes We Did.

In: Motherhood

Siblings resting heads in hands posing for a photo on the grass in front of a house

Taking a cue from the Kardashians (Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie), and the Duggars (Josh, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedediah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace, and Josie . . . whew, that was a lot to type), I decided to also name my boys names that have the same first initial. I know there are people out there who think this trend is tacky. I loved it. I chose my second son’s name after reading it aloud with my other son’s name together. Matching first initial names usually just sounds more cohesive and...

Keep Reading

From Party Girl to Mom: Why I Quit Alcohol

In: Living, Motherhood

In my 20s I was the party queen. I just lived for an epic social life. Then I had my first son and my social scene changed. The dive bars turned into cookouts where my friends without kids came over, and we smoked pork and drank beers. Then I had my second son and my oldest went to kindergarten and my social scene changed even more. I found a group of moms who also loved to party, and we did it in a way that seemed so acceptable. We packed beers and went to the beach. We filled bottles with...

Keep Reading