Happy Mother's Day!!

It has been a perfect Mother's Day for me so far! We went to church this morning, where Elijah made me his first homemade Mother's Day card and proudly presented it to me when we picked him up! I love it...it's so cute and is a great reminder that parents are there to help children "bloom" in their love for God. When we got home, I played Uno with Elijah while AJ made lunch! Not just any lunch either...breakfast lunch! Mmm...that's my favorite! Also, yesterday AJ got a rose for me and a rose for my mom! I thought that was really sweet!

Anyway, I was thinking a lot this weekend about the mother's who have inspired me. There are so many, but I thought I would focus this post on the mother's in my family who have encouraged me and taught me different things that I hope to use in my own mothering.

First...my mother! I love my mom! She has always been one of my favorite people ever. When I was little, I wanted to be with her all the time and I loved to show off for her and make her proud. My mom ALWAYS encouraged me and let me know that I could do anything I set my mind to! As I grew older, she became more of a mentor. I would ask her for advice...sometimes following her advice and sometimes not...and I would go to her for comfort when things went wrong. I told her everything about everything! After I left for college, she became one of my best friends. I guess the thing biggest thing I learned from her is to be a mother when my children need that and a friend as they get older and need that. She is my favorite example of a mom, and I always feel so blessed when I realize that she is MY mom and I get to keep her forever! :)

The next mother I want to talk about is my sister Nikki. I remember when she first had Nick. I was in 8th grade, and the week after she had him, she brought him to one of my volleyball games and let me carry him down the bleachers to introduce him to my friends! She was always so proud to show him off, and she was really relaxed about letting other people hold him. I always loved that, and when I had Elijah, I let anyone and everyone hold him and took him everywhere right after he was born! It really was so fun to show him off! :) Another thing I have been learning from her is to let my kids be who they want to be. This is going to be hard for me because I want my kids to dress how I want them to dress or act how I want them to act, but she has showed me that it's important to let them be who they are! Her kids always talk to her about things and love to be with their family at home, and I think a huge part of that is that she lets them dress and act how they want. They feel like she truly accepts them no matter what. That is a great mom! I also feel so blessed that she is my sister and that she loves Elijah just as much as I have always loved her kids! It's so neat that my son loves his Aunt Nikki and is always really excited to see her!

Next on the list...Christi! I am not a creative person AT ALL, but she is! She is the most creative person I have ever met. She always seems to find such joy in creating different projects and showing them off. She has always let her kids create things, too. She comes up with really neat projects to do with them and really develops their creative sides. I want to do that with my kids, too...even though it is much harder for me since I do not know the first thing about being artistic! Kids like to create things, though, and I need to allow Elijah to do that more. I need to just let him get messy and try things out! I'm really happy that Rick married Christi because she is so much fun to have in our family! :)

Now to Emily. Emily has become such a great friend to me and someone that I can talk to about the ups and downs of my life. And a lot of those ups and downs have to do with my son! I always tell her this, but I admire how she is ALWAYS prepared as a mom! She always has a hundred snacks in her diaper bag or purse just in case her kids get fussy, she makes them great lunches and plays with them and shows them she loves them all the time. She is great at disciplining her kids without seeming too harsh. She can say one word and Hunter will stop in his tracks and listen to her. She adores Sophie and I can already tell that they have that special mother-daughter bond that every daughter wants. She also loves the Lord so much and teachers her kids even now about Jesus and reads them Bible stories and prays with them all the time. I look up to her a lot and I think she does such a great job not only of being a mom but also a wife!

Anyway, I was just thinking of these ladies today and wanted to say how much I appreciate them and love them and look up to them! They are great women! I think it's so neat that God places people in your lives to teach you how to be a wife, mom, and friend. We would be lost without those examples!

Happy Mother's day, Moms! I hope you enjoy being with your family today, and I hope that you feel appreciated! You all deserve it! :)