happy mom's day

My sweet friend Kara wrote a beautiful post on motherhood.  I borrowed it and added my own sentiments here & there.  She expressed so much of what I-and I'm sure most of my mommy friends-feel.  So the credit for this post is all to her.  So thankful for good mommy friends who inspire and uplift me.

I am a mother.

And because I am a mother to young children, my days usually include: cleaning up spills, folding laundry, peeling stickers off the walls, putting toys away, building & dismantling forts, buckling and unbuckling carseats, being referee to another sibling rivalry, bathing children, changing diapers, cleaning the kitchen for the 10th time in a single day, cleaning toothpaste off every surface in the bathroom, finding the missing glasses, trying to talk the boys into hair cuts, putting bandaids on, wiping tears (theirs and mine) and answering hundreds of seemingly useless questions. Although not a comprehensive list, it gives you an idea of what days are made up of.

If this was all that motherhood entailed, I would've given my two weeks notice long ago. But just around the corner from every frustrating moment is the moment I love to live for. The smile and sweet I love you. Overhearing them praise one another, play happily together, or offer up a sincere prayer that tells me they're listening even when all evidence points the other way. The positive reinforcement that Grayson wants to marry me when he grows up.  When Beckham comes and smothers me with hugs & kisses til I fall on the floor & we laugh super hard.  The look of accomplishment when they successfully write a letter correctly or color a self portrait.  The joke they tell that is genuinely funny. The compliments they freely give. They are simple moments that seem so few and far between...but they exist.

My days are not always glamorous, but the work is worth it.  Like my cousin Elizabeth reminded me a while back, "Motherhood is long days and short years."  And it's what I've chosen-and always desired-to do and to be.

I am a mother. 

I hosted Mother's Day this year for the first time.  I wanted to do that for my mom because she always hosts everything every year & is such an amazing example to me.  We didn't take any pictures together, so I'll have to take one this week & put it up, but she is incredible!  Definitely the best example of selfless Motherhood I could have.  So thankful for her.  We had my folks, Doll, T&T, L&K and boys, Becca and kids, Zac's folks, Chels & Chris, our neighbor Sharon, and my mom's folks.  It was a delicious meal with lots of yummy desserts & nice to see everyone enjoying themselves. 

After everyone left & we rested for a while, I took a walk with my littles in the hot hot sun.  It was too long for Beckham-he walked & I held him-but I am so grateful for them.  They are the reason I get to be called Mom-a mantle I often feel unworthy to hold.  They love me, though.  I am doing the best I know how and learning from my mistakes.  I seek my Heavenly Father's counsel often and strive to not let others opinions or expectations deter me from parenting how we feel is best for our boys.  I adore them even when it's hard and I'm so thankful for the opportunity and the journey of being their mom.

Happy Mother's Day to each of you who inspire me.

For your entertainment: