Moms

I am so grateful for my Mother.  She is what I strive to become.  She is a great example to me and I am so grateful that she was able to come take care of me and hang out with me this last month.

Before and after Emali came, my Mom did extra projects around the house.  Here she is organizing my tupperware cupboard!  She spent hours, literally hours making  my masterbathroom sparkle! It's always the last room on my list, no one else ever uses that room, so it gets last priority.  It was sooooo nice to come home from the hospital to a clean room and spotless bathroom.  Even last night Chris was mentioning again how we need my Mom to come stay with us (he did a lot of dishes and is very grateful for all the ones she did while staying here)(however, my Dad did say we would have to fight over her with my sister-in-law, and I am sure she isn't the only one pleading for mom to come visit!).
My Mom is the most amazing cook.  hands down.  I always call her for recipes and advice on cooking. She even got me hooked on green smoothies.  simple, but fun.
My Mom knows how to do everything, or so it feels.  I feel like I can call her for advice on any subject.
I have to say she is the best example I have ever seen for personal scripture study.  I am no where near as good as she is at reading my scriptures daily.  But I want to be.  It is true, that being an example is a teaching tool.  Seeing my mom with her scriptures out and studying them, daily, is a testimony to me of how important it is to her.  I know it is important to let our children see us read our scriptures because it has made such an impact on myself just watching my mom read hers, and talk about them as well.  They are important to her, and I know it!
 I know my Mom has a busy schedule with 2 kids still living at home, 2 in college, and 5 others to pull her in all directions (and don't forget about the adorable 17 grandkids!).  But I am grateful for the 11 days she spent with our family and the countless hours I still take of hers on the phone asking for reassurance in my mothering adventures. Talking with my sister Brittany the other day, we figured out that if Mom talked to each of us kids for just 20 minutes a day, 3 hours of her day would be taken up!  I am glad that she doesn't make me feel like I am taking up too much of her time, in fact, I am glad that she is more than my Mom now, she is also my friend who I love to be around and who listens to me and my needs, and helps me! I love you Mom!

I am also grateful for my mother-in-law.

 She has many talents as well.  One very obvious talent is her sewing skills.  The quilt and blanket behind her head in this picture were both made by her.  She can crochet with the best of them! The tiny stitched pink yarn around the blanket, she did by hand.  The quilt is beautiful also, and has a lot more detail than the picture shows!  She has made the most amazing quilts for our whole family.  The kids each got one at birth.  Then as toddlers they got adorable Eye Spy Quilts with alphabet picture blocks and family pictures quilted on them.  Chris and I got an extremely difficult quilt for our wedding with the mesa temple, as large as the queen size quilt, stitched by hand into it!  For Christmas one year she made an amazing quilt for our bed.  I can't say I have a favorite, I love all of the quilts she has made for our family!

Recently, I have dived into the world of cloth diapers.  My sister Amy (another amazing Mom) came to my rescue and sent me a box of diapers to try.  She got the ball rolling, and while I am still making changes and learning how to do things, my Mother-in-law has jumped right in with me and helped me sew my first pair of diaper covers and a fitted diaper.  I learned SO MUCH with her by my side.  I probably wouldn't have had the nerve to try without her by my side.  She is ALWAYS up for doing projects, and even helped me empty out my office on her last day visiting so I could start organizing it too.  

Before she came back for Emali's baby blessing, she got a book with cloth diaper patterns and sewed 3 ADORABLE covers for me and has the wheels turning for what we can do next.  The picture of Emali in her striped onsie shows a pink and purple cover that we sewed.  Turns out the fabric isn't as waterproof as we thought it was, but it was a great first try!

My Mother-in-law is up for anything and she is an amazing cheerleader, she is such a great support system and I love that I can call her and get a sincere listening ear and empathy or a cheer of support on the simplest things.  I love you Mom!

Both of our Moms are amazing women who teach us and lead us by example.  Happy Mother's Day and thank you sooooooo much for loving us and our children!