As parents we try to soak up every season of parenthood.  In all honesty, some of them are nothing but a blur due to severe sleep deprivation!  As our “tribe of 5” has all reached their teenage years, we have more time to reflect and more time to be present in the season of parenthood we currently find ourselves living in.

People ask me if we miss having them all younger… not one bit.  Those years were filled with so much fun and so many amazing days together.  I always thought I would be that Mom who loved having little kids and dreaded the thought of having teenagers.  In this new season, we are LOVING every minute of having 5 teenagers in our house.

Loving having 5 teenagers?  Yep.  Every single moment.  

This season is filled with life moments for them at school, first girlfriends, proms, sports moments, crushes, hard tests that result in an A, questions about the world, their own political views and watching their relationships with Christ and each other grow.   They are funny … and I mean funny!  Dinners are filled with tons of laughter, discussions on big topics, questions about our beliefs and values as a family and stories about their days.

There is never a weekend morning when I know exactly who will be coming upstairs after an impromptu sleep-over.  I love having the the giant football players at my kitchen counter waiting on breakfast.  I love hearing “good morning Momma-T” when they come up.  I love getting hugs from all of them when they leave for their own homes.  I love having girls here giggling and bugging the boys.  I even love the occasional moody door slam from someone who doesn’t want to get up early.

I never thought I was going to like being a Mom of teenagers.  I had heard the stories.  I had watched the Lifetime movies.  It looked dreadful and not something to look forward to in any way shape or form.  Now we are here.  Right in the middle of it with 5 teenagers who all have their own personalities, their own likes, their own dislikes and their own path to the future.  It is simply awesome.  I would be happy if time could freeze right now! I am soaking up every minute of it.  As the leaves change outside my window, I know that this  gorgeous season will soon be over and we will be moving into winter.  For now, I will sit right here and listen to the stories of their Halloween night with friends, the parties, the friends, the funny moments.  Today we are having our first family photo taken in five years.  I want to capture this amazing season we are in, so I can look back and remember how truly blessed these teenagers years were for us as their parents.

This is right where I want to be in a home full of teenagers and their friends!

Thankfully their Mom.