Motherhood

These are a few of my favorite things about motherhood:

I love how Daniel kisses my hand like I'm a princess.
I love the fact that Daniel learned it from watching Nathan kiss my hand so often.
I love the pictures drawn by our children.
I love feeling little chubby fingers play with my hair.
I love the Eskimo kisses I'm given when Daniel's face is too sticky for a kiss on the cheek.
Matthew often searches for the prettiest flowers to give me.
I love hearing our family cheer each time we do Family Home Evening.
I love snuggling with all the kids on my bed while we read books together.
When I drop Sarah and Matthew off at school, Sarah always waits and blows me a kiss before running off.
I love being told I'm beautiful by my little fan club, even on days when I haven't showered.
I love watching our kids learn and explore the world.
I love watching them get so excited at new discoveries with the microscope. It's so fun to see their reactions when they discover something unexpected. (Look at your belly button with a hand-held microscope. Weird!)
I love listening to them laugh.
I love listening to them sing. Sarah sings to herself when she cleans. It always touches my heart.
I love holding them in my arms. I love this SO much. I ponder sometimes on what it would be like to lose my arms, and this is what I would miss most. I love wrapping my arms around their warm  little bodies and holding them in my lap.
I love rocking them when they cry.
I love Matthew's enthusiasm for life. He's so excited about the 'little things'.
I love when my kids point out the beautiful wildflowers while we are driving. I appreciate being able to share the beauty of God's earth with them.
I adore tickling them, especially Daniel. He has such a great laugh. 
I love the intensity of my love for my little ones. They are so precious. I tell them every day about their divine heritage. I want them to truly understand that they are literally princes and a princess with endless potential. It's so important for them to know that in a world that is constantly telling people they're not good enough.
I love the energy they have, even when I often can't keep up with them.
I love the experience I've been blessed with of being a mother. It's blessed me so much to serve my family. I've grown spiritually so much in the years of being a mother. I know everyone complains about the work involved (I'm guilty as charged) but I see how it really has been a refining fire that has helped purge me of weaknesses. I'm looking forward to the next few decades of motherhood (yes, even including parenting the teen years) in joy and anticipation. I see how this life is God's way of helping us grow more perfect like Him. I am so very thankful for a gospel that reveres and honors the priceless role of women. It motivates me to be a wonderful mother and wife. I am so thankful for our little home, where we can feel peace from the world's woes and I am treated like a queen. 

Happy Mother's Day!

For an uplifting message on motherhood, click here.