Motherhood
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward...Psalms 127:3.
A reward.....a gift from a loving Heavenly Father to me, His daughter!
My dream as a little girl was to be married and have a family. I wanted the Brady Bunch family. At that time I didn’t focus on the fact that these were step parents, because they didn’t act like step parents. They loved one another regardless of who’s child you were...and how sweet is that!
Well I don’t have step children, but I do have 4 beautiful daughters that God has blessed my life with, so let me tell you a little about each precious gift I was given to love and raise.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
June 11, 1979; God blessed my life with my 1st daughter, Chablis. Oh the joy that flooded my heart. My little girl, so many fun times and some not as fun, like when she was a little to quiet in her bedroom and I peaked in to check on her and found that she had taken off her dirty diaper and rubbed poop all over her crib. She was the only one who thought it was funny!!
She also loved to wash dishes with mommy and watch t.v.with her stuffed animals, and playing in my high heel shoes was always a hit.
That’s my Chibby, one of the loves of my life!
February 11, 1982; Tocarra my second daughter blessed my life today. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have another daughter. Carrie has added more love and laughter to our home. Chablis loves her little sister who is 2 years and 9 months to the day younger than her.
The girls loved playing outside in the summer, running through the sprinkler and playing on their swing set. Lots of sweet memories....one funny memory of Tocarra is peaking under the bathroom door; mommies never get a moment to themselves!!
November 16, 1996; Ciara arrived....never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would have more than two children and here God blesses me with Ciara my 3rd daughter.
It was different starting over after 14 years, but oh how I love this girl and so did her big sisters.
She knew how to control them right away, she loved getting into their things and running off with them, wreaking them, and then giving them her sweet little smile with giggles...not fair!
One of Ciara’s favorite thing to get from the grocery store was a decorated sugar cookie. So if she was a good girl while we were shopping, mommy would reward her with one of her choice...she was ALWAYS a good girl
May 9, 2000; Paris my 4th baby girl. We brought her home on May 17 after 5 days in the Nicu at Sanford, as Paris was 5 1/2 week early. She wasn't suppose to attend her big sister Tocarra’s high school graduation, but here she was, tiny only 4 pounds 1 1/2 ounces when we brought here home. A precious gift from God....one year earlier on May 8, I miscarried and it broke my heart and here one year later God gave me Paris.
Paris has completed our family and her sisters have loved their baby sister. Fun times in the pool and riding Ciara’s Barbie Jeep around which was always exciting for them.
As Paris grew she has enjoyed cheerleading at Park Christian and coaching cheer. Paris was honored to be crowned Miss Teen ND International 2018. We had a wonderful time cheering her on at nationals in West Virginia last July.
Today, May 31, 2018; joy and sadness as my last baby girl will be moving out tomorrow into an apartment with two girlfriends. Paris also has completed her freshmen year at NDSU. She is dating Brandon and I see a wedding in the future...I will keep you posted!
Ciara is married to Micah and they live in Alexandria,MN and hopefully more sweet grand babies will come soon....I can’t wait!
Tocarra is married to Nick and they have two beautiful daughters, London and Ireland and they live in Dilworth, MN.
Chablis is married to Dan and have two handsome sons. They live in Fargo.
My new normal of empty nester is happening and I’m not sure what this will look like after raising my girls for 40 years, but I trust that God will lead me as I enter the next chapter of my life.
I will miss the text messages to come downstairs and sleep with them so they can fall asleep, prayers in the car on the way to school each morning, hearing about their day after school. The tears, stresses, laughter, seeing them sleeping in their rooms, watching movies together like a hundred time of Pirates of the Caribbean
I thank God for the privilege of being Chablis, Tocarra, Ciara, and Paris’ mom, it has been a huge blessing in my life and one I will cherish forever. I now it’s not over, it’s just different.
I am overwhelmed with gratefulness,
Wanda Arnhalt
North Dakota Ambassador International 2019
