Being Mommy and Daddy

“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

There is nothing in the world as wonderful, miraculous and challenging as being a parent. From the moment Landon entered this world and every moment since then, we are so grateful for the blessing of being his parents. Our sweet angel brings so much joy and a sweet spirit into our home. We laugh often at the silly things he does and rejoice in his progress. Every day is a new adventure and sometimes a challenging one. Everyday you hope your doing this right, "time" itself changes, time to yourself is few and far between, dishes and laundry are sometimes endless, days can be tiring, backs ache, grocery trips are daunting, some nights feel sleepless....yet its all totally and completely worth it. Somehow each new day brings more and more happiness and you somehow have the energy to keep going even with little sleep. I remember my Mom telling me years ago that when I have a baby, I will understand how much you truly love your children. That was the truth! We love Landon more than we ever could imagine and being a mommy is better than anyone even said it would be. I often reflect on the miracle of how he came into this world and how grateful I am to have experienced the labor to bring him here. Landon changed our lives, changed our marriage, changed us spiritually, and all for the better. I can't wait for the adventures in our future and for how much more there is to learn about being a parent. I love being a Mommy and there is nothing in the whole world I would sacrifice for being home with our sweet angel! That in itself is a miracle and blessing! This is really living.