Breathtaking moments: The M word

I was reading an old post tonight, on one of my favorite blogs, Little Miss Momma. 

She wrote about her ten most breathtaking moments. 

One of hers was obviously, the birth of her child. 

It really touched me. 

As I was reading this, I thought to myself, 

"Hey! This would be an awesome theme for one of my first posts now that I've decided to start blogging." 

So I thought back on some of my most breathtaking moments. 

The births of my nieces and nephews. 

My baptism. 

The beginning of my relationship with Greg. 

And as I was doing so, I realized that this is not going to be a top ten list. 

Not today. 

Though I'm sure that I will do one in the future. 

This is going to be a post about a mere one of them. One that's been very close to my heart lately. 

These boys. 

They changed my life. 

Call it chance, fate, destiny... 

I like to think of it as a gift from God. 

So yes, these boys are completely breathtaking. 

But the one breathtaking moment in particular happened this summer, after they had been in my life for just over a year and a half. 

It was the moment this sweet little face looked up at me and said "I love you Mommy." 

 Greg and I had already discussed the possibility of this happening. 

The boys are at a very important stage in their lives 

(and we were about to find out that they were dealing with a lot more than we could have imagined, but that will be another post for another time.) 

and we both felt it was up to the boys to make this decision. 

We both agreed that we would never force, 

or even encourage them to call me mom, 

but if they want to do so

if they feel that I am their mom, or a motherly figure to them, 

who am I to tell them what to feel? 

Since these boys came into my life,

I've always said, 

"I didn't know it was possible to love someone else's child so much.", 

but writing this just now, I'm realizing, 

it's not loving someone else's child, 

it's loving my child. Blood or not.

Sidenote: I am not, and will not ever intend to step on anyone's toes or take the place of their mother. They have a great relationship with their mother, spending about 50% of their time with each of us. They know exactly who their mother is and where they came from. They often refer to her as their mommy, and me as their other mommy. Their mother is entirely okay with this, and even refers to me as their other mommy or mommy Bree.