Motherhood

A few months ago, Conner volunteered us to watch these 4 children in our ward while their parents were in Florida...he thought it would be good parenting practice, a good experience...an adventure. We decided to do it and boy was he was right!

 

Annie had the best bed head I have EVER seen!

Conner got to practice living vicariously through his son.

I attempted the soccer mom roll (Ella was a half an hour late for soccer practice).

It was amazing to see how much energy these kids had. They would have never gotten off the swings if I didn't pry their little fingers off of the chains.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the week.

We painted nails...

Tried new hair do's...

Made our own personal pizzas...

Told bedtime stories...

Made them clean the house...

Played at Grammy's...

Got adventurous and took them for a night out on the town...I now see why Chik-Fil-A is such a hit with young families- They ate all their chicken nuggets and then played in the play place for an hour and a half!

Then we splurged and took them out for ice cream. When we got home they were worn out and ready for bed.

Although these pictures remind us of all the fun we had, we were EXHAUSTED! I never knew that being a mother could be so hard. I learned so much and was sure to take a few notes of things I wanted to remember.



To every mother I ever judged for letting their children wear their shoes on the wrong feet, for sending their kids to school without brushing their hair, or not making their children wear a jacket when they went outside, I apologize. I now understand. Although these darling kids were well-behaved, having to worry about 4 other schedules, personalities and favorite foods is difficult, to say the least. I guess I live a pretty selfish life. Motherhood has got to be the most selfless calling in the world. I used to think that mothers who had rag-muffin kids were crazy. Now I wonder if the mom's who seem to have it all together are crazy...I just don't know how they do it every day. 

Despite the difficulties of parenting, Conner and I learned a lot. We look forward to the day when we will raise our own family and now know what we're in for. There is no one else I would rather share this journey with. I know Conner will be a fantastic father...even if he does live vicariously through his son.  

I am amazed at what a fantastic job my own mother has done and continues to do with 6 children- not to mention in-laws and grandchildren. I love my mom so much and am so glad that we have the relationship that we do. I am so thankful that she taught me to be polite and respectful. I'm glad she taught me how to dress to flatter my body. I'm impressed that she did my hair every morning when I was in elementary school. I will forever be indebted to her for cleaning up my vomit. I miss the back tickles at night while singing Fourteen Angels. She taught me to clean and to organize. She taught me to serve those around me. Through her actions, she constantly shared her testimony of the gospel and love for our Savior. I owe her for staying up late to finish projects or to sew my prom dresses. Thanks to her, I have a hard time buying anything that is not on sale. She is a fabulous cook, poet, seamstress, gardener, maid, and the list goes on and on. I only hope I can live up to the woman she raised me to be.