mother’s day 2018

Now that it’s almost Father’s Day… I figured I should actually post about Mother’s Day!

Honestly, Mother’s Day always brings up a lot of strong emotions for me, mostly because I know that there are so many women who are hurting on this day for various reasons.

Before we had our girls, I used to struggle so much because I truly lacked a testimony of my own divine role as a daughter of God. I looked all around me and saw women who were thriving, seemingly called to raise families. I doubted my ability to be “good enough” to ever mother children at all, so starting our family took a huge amount of faith. I’m not a perfect mom, but I’m trying, and I know now that there’s no such thing as “good enough”. Raising these little girls is what I’m supposed to be doing, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Of course, I’m also so grateful for all the amazing women, both those who have gone before me and those in my life now, who have set incredible examples for us.

Kaya was so excited and shouted, “It’s Mother’s Day!” as soon as she woke up that morning. Michael surprised everyone with donuts for breakfast, and we headed off to church. I always look forward to hearing stories from other people about the inspirational women in their lives.Kaya and Kaelyn got to go up to the front of the chapel and sing a special Mother’s Day song (“The Dearest Names”). My girls actually didn’t seem to know the words very well, but it was still completely adorable, especially since it was Kaelyn’s first time performing with the Primary! They always run back to our pew with the largest grins, so excited and proud of themselves for going up there at all.Kaya couldn’t wait to surprise me with this HUGE stack of cards… 21 of them, to be exact. She had them all folded and some tied up with yarn, so it was like opening all these little gifts from her. It was fun to unwrap each one while Michael made lunch for everyone.Kaya also made that little handprint in Primary at church. I might just keep it forever. Both girls received these little surveys at church, too. I always love hearing what they think and how they see our everyday life. No surprise, but it seems like the most simple things are usually their favorites (like snuggling)!

Kaya:
This morning Tara was named World’s Best Mom.
My mom loves to eat food with our family.
When she surprises us it makes me really happy.
My favorite thing to do with my mom is snuggle.
My mom is really good at teaching me.
Her very favorite thing about me is my big hugs and cards.
She loves to eat brownies with sprinkles and has really pretty curls.
Her favorite scripture story is Jesus’ birth.
I love her so much because she takes care of me while Daddy is at work.

Kaelyn:
This morning Mama was named World’s Best Mom.
My mom loves to take pictures with our family.
When she snuggles me it makes me really happy.
My favorite thing to do with my mom is spend time with her.
My mom is really good at making necklaces.
Her very favorite thing about me is that I’m a good helper.
She has a really pretty smile.

As if that wasn’t enough fun, we also played some Mario Kart (it’s so exciting that the girls are now old enough for games!) while Michael cooked tacos. I actually ate a taco, which was amazing! He even surprised me with a big bag of dark chocolate raisins, so I had some of those, too.

He took the older girls down to the basement to make one last surprise for me before the night was through- a video questionnaire! Now I can watch their adorable little antics forever and ever, so it’s even better than the paper version. (Sidenote: I love how they both said my favorite food is grilled cheese… it’s mostly all they’ve seen me eat for dinner for the past 6-ish months!)

The very best part of this day was seeing my girls’ excitement about everything. They absolutely love making surprises and showing love to our family. And, I’m looking forward to taking a picture with all FOUR of my little ladies next year!