DAY 822... Thankful For #22

Today I am thankful that I am a mom. I always wanted kids growing up... 13 in fact. I had their names picked out (Spencer vetoed most of them. I'm sure it didn't help that the first 7 were named after the 7 dwarfs and also included the name Hyphen), their talents picked out, and I knew that the girls would look like me and the boys would look like my husband. I knew that I wanted to be a mom and that I wanted that to play a big role in my life. I had no idea how awesome it would be. I had no idea how difficult and challenging it would be either. Being a mom is a HUGE blessing! There are many women in my life who want more than anything to be able to have a baby, but they can't. I don't know why they have been dealt this trial, but my heart breaks for them. I'm 100% sure that these amazing women would be 1000 times the mom I am! I am impatient, I am moody, I am annoyed, I am incredibly challenged, I get frustrated easily, and I am no where near close to being the perfect mom. I pray for strength daily to help me parent. Being a mom is hard for me. Being a mom does not come naturally to me like I had hoped. But it is something that I am willing to work hard at. I have watched these women who struggle to have children work with other children and have admired their talents and their amazing abilities with children. Why would The Lord not bless them with children when they seem to be much more capable than I am? Perhaps, while it's their trial to endure the struggle to have children, it is my trial to have children. Being a mom has taught me patience, kindness, unconditional love, unselfishness, empathy and so many more amazing and useful qualities. Qualities that I may never have developed unless I was a mom. But they aren't learned easily. I have been blessed with a super sassy child, and she is an amazing teacher! But learning doesn't come easy to me. Although I struggle daily to become a better mom, I know and understand what a blessing having a child is. Aniston has taught me how to pray for and hope for those who struggle to have kids, that they may someday know of the blessings that motherhood can bring to them. And I do pray daily for them, because I know without a doubt that it is those women who will raise good, productive, talented and amazing children. Something that the world could use more of.

I AM THANKFUL TO BE A MOM!