Mother's Day

Nothing in this world can prepare you for the eternal joys of motherhood.

And in contrast I feel that nothing can prepare you for the pain you feel for your children when you know they are hurt.

I have never felt such happiness [and really that word doesn't even do it justice] as the day(s) my children were born. I will forever have those memories burned in my mind. I vividly recall the first time I saw Quincy... beholding his tiny pink body.... hearing that wonderful first cry... knowing that this was a fulfillment of my divine destiny. I remember meeting Braxton face to face... seeing all that brown fuzzy hair and understanding that each spirit is unique.... I remember thanking Heavenly Father for trusting me enough to nurture His children here on earth.

Never have I felt a more powerful wave of God's spirit wash over me than when I first cradled my children in my arms. The privilege of beholding someone that was so near to our Heavenly Father is indescribable.

With that being said... I will say that motherhood has it's ups and downs. Some days are MOST discouraging. It's on days like these that I take comfort in these words:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit....

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

To some it might be silly to to set aside a day to recognize, thank, and show our appreciation to Mother's around the world, but to me-- the mother of two rowdy and rambunctious boys-- it's a day to reflect on the privilege of Motherhood.

And so it is... this year that I had an amazing Mother's Day.

Not only did Tyler make me breakfast... but he also got the boys ready for church AND we were EARLY (something I love--as I hate to be late-- something instilled in me from my dad) in driving up to my parents' house Sunday morning to go to their ward.

Yes. It was so nice to shirk the mom duties for one day...But best of all it was great to be with my whole family.

I want to share an little story that happened to me on Mother's Day-- which hopefully doesn't discredit my skills as a mother....

We managed to get everyone out the door on time that morning and not forget anything. We sat through a beautiful sacrament which praised mothers. When Sacrament was over Tyler and I decided that we were going to go back to my parent's house to put Braxton down for a nap. Quincy was excited to go to primary and since my mom plays piano in there we gladly let him go. Before leaving I told my dad "Quincy is in primary. We are taking Braxton home to take a nap. Make sure you guys take him home with you." My dad said "Okay." So we got to my parents house, put B down for his nap, changed out of our church clothes, and waited for church to be over. During the last hour of church my dad came home to prepare the mother's day dinner. Pretty soon everyone starting coming home and we discovered that Quincy wasn't with any of them.... I had a moment of panic surge through me when I realized that the message never got relayed from my dad to my mom. Indeed Quincy was left at church by himself. In a ward he didn't live in. My brother Karter even said he didn't see Quincy at the church when he went to pick up my mom. Uh oh. Where oh where could our little Quincy be?

Tyler and I rushed to the church in our regular clothes and started looking for him. After peeking into several rooms and not seeing him I heard someone call my name. I looked down a hall to find my Aunt Victoria and cousin Sarah. Standing at their feet was Quincy... looking rather perplexed by my slightly panicked expression and eating a chocolate chip cookie. I gave him a huge hug and then discovered that he had peed his pants...Not because he was scared that he had been left at the church, but because his teacher didn't take him to the bathroom. However, he was happy. He was safe. And he was cheerfully showing me some paper flowers he made in his class.

Yes. Mother's Day was a great day to reflect on the privilege of Motherhood and consider that perhaps I'm going to make some mistakes... and maybe every once in a while I might just leave one of my children at the church.

Hope you all had great Mother's Days!