the mom of juice box.

undoubtedly she {anna evans} is the mother of the cutest {almost} 16 month old i know. i personally enjoy referring to her as "boss lady." i have learned more from her in the past {almost} year than she knows. she is the type of mother i aspire to be {one day}. i am lucky to know her and her love for "J"/"juice box"/"j-bug"/"juju." on the subject of loving jewel this is what anna had to say: 
q: could you have anticipated what loving Jewel would be like? 
a: No! I have heard before that love has a flow to it, and it flows down. The analogy goes like this: “Think about your parents. You love them. You honor and adore them. You think they are great, amazing, and extremely special. Now think about your kids. When you talk about your kids you talk with a different passion. There is a different look in your eye. You take it to another level when you talk about how you love your kids.” It is so true. The love for your child is different. It is completely unchanging and unconditional. There is absolutely nothing Jewel could do that would ever change my love for her.

q: what is your most treasured memory of her life so far?
a: There are so many. How she dances with her shoulders, smiles and says “he-yo” (hello), gives hugs, grins at you from the back seat… But one memory does jump out first. When Jewel was brand new, maybe 1 week old, we were having a particularly trying night. Luke and I were both spit-up soaked, exhausted and confused. Why is Jewel screaming? She won’t eat, she won’t sleep, she doesn’t want to rock, or her paci, or any of the other 500 things we tried to appease her. So we were all three wearily sitting up in bed at 2 am, and I’m holding Jewel facing us when she catches her breath, pauses, and let’s out a huge dramatic sigh that clearly said “you people are wearing me out.” That was the first time she ever made us laugh. I think that is when her fascination with entertaining us began. She makes us laugh everyday, and she loves every second of it.

q: is there a work of art {painting, literature, song, etc} that best represents your love for her? 
a: My all-time favorite song “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan. I just played it for her, and she adapted her shoulder dance to the slower beat – so it is official. I might like Rod Stewart’s version of “Forever Young” too, but probably shouldn’t advertise my lame music taste.

q: what is the greatest joy of being a mother?
a: The greatest joy of being a mother goes back to question #1 - and the downward flow of love. In the same way that I love Jewel, but on a much greater scale, God’s love for me flows down. I love Him back up, but there is no way that my love for Him can measure His love for me. Such an amazing concept! Having a child has been a joyously constant reminder of how much I am loved. Far more than I know. Far more than I deserve. I love because He first loved me. 

where there is love {of a mother flowing down}, there is art.