Several friends tried to tell me. I thought I understood what they were saying. Oh my heart! I had no idea how deeply I would be affected.
On Saturday, August 29, 2015, our daughter gave birth to our first grandchild ... a beautiful, perfect baby boy named Hartford West Citro.
Oh my heart! Little Hart has changed it forever.
I've had more than two decades of experience living with my heart full of love for the two beautiful daughters that Lord blessed James and I with. When each little baby girl was placed in my arms, my heart swelled. When they were hurt or went through hard things, my heart ached for them. When they reached growth milestones like crawling, walking, expanding their vocabulary, my heart rejoiced. When my husband played tea party or Barbies or any number of things our little girls loved to do, my heart smiled. And as their faith in the Lord took root and evidence of their spiritual growth shone through, my heart was filled with joy.
For more than two decades, my heart has been through the ringer experiencing highs and lows I couldn't have imagined, and yet remains full and overflowing with love. But this ... this is new.
I believed my friends when they told me that being a grandparent was life-changing in a wonderful way. But I couldn't really know until I first laid eyes on this beautiful little boy soon after he was delivered and cleaned up and placed on my daughter's chest.
Not only is my heart more full than I ever could have imagined for our new grandson, but I find that I have an even deeper love for both of our daughters, our son-in-law, and my husband, too.
What a beautiful thing to be part of the grandparents' club my friends have told me so much about!
I'm so proud of our daughter and her husband. They are already excellent, wise, thoughtful, godly parents ... and they've only been a mama and daddy for just two short weeks.
My heart will never be the same, and I couldn't be happier about it!