One of the many gifts motherhood has given me is that of some truly incredible friendships. I have been fortunate to meet many of my closest friends, because we are all on this journey together. We’re witnessing our children grow and change, and we’re by each others sides every step of the way. Through sleepless nights, toddler tantrums, new babies, life changes, and adventures - these are the friendships that I hope will last a lifetime.

Alie is one of the most genuine, and beautiful souls I have ever met, and I am so grateful to call her one of my dearest friends. It’s such an honor to share her words.

Here is Alie’s Story:

I feel God put me on this earth to be a mother, and gosh do I feel lucky. I am a mama to the two best babies; Kaden (6) and Millie Mae (5 Months). I can honestly say Motherhood is the best thing that has ever happened to me, but it is quite a roller coaster of emotions!

Motherhood Made Me:

• Grow up quickly. I became a mom at the age of 22. Yes I was still in college, and no it was not planned, but I would not want it any other way. God sure had a wonderful plan for me and my future. Becoming a mama at such a young age, I was forced to grow up fast and mature quickly. Of course I was nervous. All I could think was “I am so young, how will I provide for this tiny human!?”. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband (then boyfriend) who took care of, and provided for the both of us. 

• Fearful about every single thing. I had no idea motherhood came along with so much ANXIETY. With Kaden, I was the mom that called the doctor about everything! I thought the anxiety might ease as he got older, but it only gets worse! Now I worry about how he is doing at school when I am not there, and what kind of friends he is playing with, and the list goes on..

• Find a new found love for coffee. Who would have thought your mind and body could learn to function with almost no sleep?! Millie is still waking up about 2-3 times a night, and when she falls back to sleep, Kaden is waking up with a nightmare. Don’t know what I would do without my BFF, coffee. 

• Meet my Best Friends. I have always been a shy person, so moving to a whole new state 3 years ago, I was so worried about meeting new people and making friends. I joined the Sonoma Valley Mothers Club shortly after moving to Sonoma. To be honest, I didn’t really have any intentions of actually attending any of the events, just because it was SO out of my comfort zone to put myself out there and meet new people. One day I saw that they were all planning to go on a walk together with their babes, and I just had this strong feeling that God was telling me to go. Thank goodness I did because this is the day I met my 2 closest friends; thank you Mothers Club. 

• Experience a kind of love that I never knew was possible. How can I be so obsessed with this tiny human!? I feel like my heart could explode talking about how much I love my babes. But this also had me fearful during my second pregnancy.  Every single day of my pregnancy I had the same thought, “I have so much love for Kaden, how can it be possible to love another baby just as much”. But when my sweet little Millie came, I realized I didn’t have to share the love in my heart, because I grew a whole second heart for my sweet baby girl. 

Motherhood is such an amazing journey, and I thank God everyday for choosing me to be Kaden and Millie’s mama!