There is Nothing Better...

...than being a mom. I've been thinking about this a lot again lately for a bunch of different reasons.

First of all, my son's birthday. When I was small, my mother wrote letters to me on my birthday. These letters told of the things I accomplished and learned that year, my favorite things and how much she loved me. The letters only lasted my first three years, but I cherish those letters to this day. So, before I even had children, I had decided that I would carry on that same tradition. I need to write his 2nd birthday letter, and have been thinking about all the wonderful things about Brychan for the last couple of days. It's hard to compile it all into one, reasonably lengthed letter.

Secondly - the addition of the big boy bed.
While I'm a little sad to see my Bug too big for his crib and big enough for a real bed, I am totally in love with the nighttime routine. I love being able to sit next to him in bed, sing a few songs with him, read a story, say prayers with him and tuck him in. I just LOVE it. And I get teary every night as we go through this routine. Our first night, I asked him what song he wanted to sing, and he signed "sun" to me. Through the process of elimination, I finally figured out that he wanted to sing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam". We rarely sing that song at home, but I know they sing it in nursery. Imagine my surprise when we start singing, and he blasts out "BEAM" at the end of every single "sunbeam" phrase. I had NO idea he knew that song! It's now my favorite song to sing with him - just because I love watching him sing it. It's nice to know that he really is learning something in Nursery, and gives me hope that maybe he really is picking something up during family home evenings too.

Occasionally, as I'm nursing Kehlton and Brychan is napping, I will browse random blogs. Today I came across a woman whose baby was stillborn. Her entries broke my heart. And it reminded me just how lucky I am that Heavenly Father has entrusted these two adorable little boys to David and I (not that I believe Heavenly Father didn't trust this woman with her baby...quite the opposite, I'm sure. He knew she would be strong enough to handle having this child simply long enough for him to gain a body and then return home to Him). I have many friends who have lost their children through miscarriage or stillbirth, or are unable to have children and are waiting to get through the adoption process. My heart breaks for them just as much. It doesn't seem fair, and I have wondered many times why I, and so many others, are easily blessed with children, while others have these awful obstacles to overcome before realizing the blessing of children. I am so grateful that I have my boys. That Heavenly Father feels that I am "fit" enough to be a good mom to them, when I so frequently wonder if I really am fully capable of raising these boys to be good, strong, righteous priesthood holders. Just this morning I was lamenting about my weight and being frustrated with the fact that I've hit a plateau (of course, I was consoling myself with a peanut butter bar, so I can't complain too much). This woman's blog entry was a well needed dose of reality for me. The reason I don't fit into my favorite, size 6, Banana Republic jeans any longer is because I've had two babies in less than two years. That's the bottom line. Would I trade those jeans for my babies? Absolutely not. I love my children. I love being a mom and a wife. I love it all...hard, can't-help-but-pull-my-hair-out days included. There really is nothing in this world that is better than being a mom. All the sacrifices and hard work are worth it, a hundred times over. And hopefully, I can work hard enough to be worthy of the wonderful blessings that come with motherhood!