Mama's Day

 All I ever wanted to be was a mommy. I was that little girl whose bed was COVERED in dolls. I loved baby dolls. They were not dolls. They were my babies. I remember asking for a certain doll for Christmas when I was maybe 7 or 8. I found the doll hidden in a bag in the closet, waiting to be wrapped up and put out on Christmas day. Every day I would sneak in the room and talk to the doll in the closet, let it know I was there and would be taking care of it soon. When I would go grocery shopping with my mom as a little girl my mother would let me help out, going to the isles in the store and grabbing things she needed. I would often times sneak past the baby supplies isle and would pretend to pick out baby items to buy: baby food, diapers, pacifiers, toys, etc. I loved babies. I have always loved babies. And I have wanted nothing more than to have babies of my own. Being a mother is a very literal dream come true. It is the culmination of everything I ever wanted. 4 Beautiful, Healthy, Wonderful, Amazing Children that are the joy of my life! Many nights a week I will ask my kids, as I tuck them in bed, "What is the most important thing in the world to me?" And they will say "Your kids!" I never want them to doubt it. 

Mothers Day surely is a day to honor your mother and thank her for all she does for you and contemplate all she has brought into your life. But as a mother it has become a day to deeply reflect on how blessed I am. How much I love and adore, cherish and honor this calling to be a mother. To be trusted by our Heavenly Father to raise these little ones. To teach them, protect them, help them, love them, raise them to be the best they can be. And I pray every day that I can be all that they deserve. I Love My Children.

 I tend to believe that some of the best pictures are the bloopers...the ones you don't want to hang on your wall. But many times these are the ones that Truly capture the moment and the essence and all the personality. 

And then there is my own mother. A woman who has taught me love, sacrifice, kindness, selflessness. She has been an example of patience, humility, strength, determination, dependability, faith, honesty. She is a mother to me first and foremost. She is my friend. She is my rock and the example to me of all that I strive to be. I have always said, if I can just grow up to be half the woman that my mother is then I will have done pretty good.