Spunky Sapphire

Since we missed his official birthday posting date, I’ll share 5 days later. This kid. Where do I begin…

Most days, I canneth not with him. He is THE most stubborn boy you will ever meet (takes after .koppelaar and it will serve him well someday, I’m sure!).

He would rather wear pajamas 24/7 than literally anything else. And if we could make that his monster truck ones without ever needing to wash them, that would be ideal. He’s currently wearing them as I type this.

He’s our first of 3 thumb-suckers and it doesn’t appear to be letting up any time soon. 🤦🏽‍♀️ That thumb is sticking up in this photo because he was sucking it the whole shoot boycotting smiles. See? Stubborn.

However. He is HILARIOUS. The things that come out of his mouth have us in stitches quite often. 😂

He loves his sisters and will randomly cuddle with them. He’s THE MOST patient with Kate (though he also pesters her mercilessly sometimes).

We named him Maverick. “An independent man who avoids conformity.” 😬 can’t be mad at him turning out exactly what we decided to call him, right? Praying he uses this independence to honour and glorify God, stand up for the truth, and be the courage his siblings need to do the same. (Side note: this is why you have multiple children—their strengths and weaknesses balance out and they can move as a unit and be that support for each other. Go against the grain and have a bunch of little people—the world needs strong discerning men and women—raise them!)

Happy birthday, my wild child. We love you. 🥰

Ooof. .clarkson I don’t mean to air out your small regrets, but this wisdom from an older mama is giving me major perspective in the toil and grind of the “4 under 5” life I’m living. 👏🏻

While feeding Lauren, I flipped open to the February chapter in The Lifegiving Home to compile some thoughts for next month’s email. I’ve read this book before and had highlighted my way through; this quote jumped out at me today during a chaotic moment where I was (perhaps 😆) fretting more about the details than enjoying the people.

It hit me in that way like, “aw man, I’m doing it again,”—focusing on what’s not going to matter in the long run vs thoroughly enjoying who they are RIGHT now…and the circus that comes along with them!

And while this quote seems like a negative thing, it’s such a refreshing reminder to turn my thoughts around. Sure, in my 5 years of motherhood, I already could say this exact quote—I wish I had read the book when he asked, played outside more, let the details GO and just BEEN in the moment (because, indeed, the details have faded!) And I could stay stuck in that regret. Or I can vow to make the change in this moment…

…and hold this quote close as a reminder that 40 years from now? The RELATIONSHIPS are going to matter more than how we got where we needed to go or what was for dinner or that the vacation plans didn’t go JUST SO because a kid had a meltdown.

So. Here’s to enjoying the people over fretting the details. And thank you, Sally, for pouring your wisdom into new(er) mamas like us. 🥰