Mothers

Motherhood is harder than I ever thought it would be, but also so much more amazing and rewarding than I ever thought it could be.  The hard parts; the sleepless nights, the disciplining, the tantrums, the messy diapers, are all worth every minute when you one of those amazing moments come along.  And it's so surprising what might fill your heart with pride, or make you tear up with joy during day to day life.  It could be something so awesome as a baby's first smile, or as ordinary as watching a movie together.  There is most certainly no other job in the world that I would want...but, I might could use someone to come takeover during the not so fun stuff :)
The mothers in my life are all SO amazing, and all in there own way.  First, my Mom.  She taught me so much growing up.  From the simple and basic things that all kids must eventually learn, to the huge and important things that I feel are so vital to pass on to my kids.  But I think what I am enjoying so much about my Mother at this point in my life, is her friendship.  I love my weekly (or daily) phone calls to my mother where I have the chance to just talk, and the great thing is, she always listens to every dull, mundane thing I have to say.  I especially enjoy the time we have when we she comes to visit.  I love it when she comes over, because when she is here, away from all her responsibilities at home, we get her undivided attention all the time.  And she is always willing to drop what she has at home when I need "my mommy".  After both of the births of my kids, she spent two LONG weeks of sleepless nights, lots of tears (mostly from me, but hey, I blame those darn pregnancy hormones), and me pretty much bossing her around, TELLING, not asking her, to do task after task after task for me.  How amazing it that! And I love sharing those special first weeks of a newborns life with her.  So, yeah, pretty much, my Mom is awesome!

Second, is my mother-in-law.  I'm so grateful for Cam's mom.  She's taken me in, and I truly feel like she treats me as one of her own.  I am always amazed at how giving she is, and she taught her kids to be the same way.  Sometimes I cannot believe the sacrifices she makes for others, and I could only hope to be half as good as she is.  She teaches me so much, by being a good example.  An example of a loving and caring mother, a woman with strong faith in the church, and a great teacher.  I'm so glad that I married a man with an amazing mom!

Third, is my friends that are mothers.  One of the best parts of having friends that are also mothers, is getting to share this experience together, and also learn together.  I don't know where I would be if I didn't have friends that I could go to for help or advice on how to work through a tuff stage with one of my kids.  Getting to talk to other women, who've experienced, or are experiencing the same difficulties, makes me realize that this difficult job is doable, and me and my kids will survive whatever ordeal we are dealing with.  So, I'm thankful for all the women who've listened to me rant about all the crazyness, or have willingly offered tips and advise that have helped me to become the mother that I am.

So Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers in my life!!!

And just to really bring home my point about motherhood being difficult at times, I wrote this amidst a bit of craziness.  As I am sitting on my computer typing, I'm listening to Lexi cry, as I am once again, trying to let her cry herself to sleep.  I have decided that sleep training is one of the worst, but all important parts of raising a baby.  And I'm also getting up every couple of minutes to escort Abby back to her room where she is supposed to be sleeping. And, you see, normally I would just shut the door and let the child lock on the inside door knob do it's job, but this week, she figured out how to BUST the lock off the door knob.  So this was a great time to try to remember all the WONDERFUL parts of motherhood!