Did I Mention?

I love my life. I really do.

As a six-year-old I got a baby doll for Christmas. I carried it and a fully loaded diaper bag every where we went for at least the next year.

When I was in my mid-teens I would always look at the young families at church and dream of the day I was in their shoes. That's not to say I didn't enjoy being a teenager...I did. But I also hated it. You know how it goes. Always looking forward to the next step.

In college, my favorite class was one I took my freshman year called Parenting and Child Guidance that I had to take as a prerequisite for the Early Childhood program. I cried more in that class than in any other simply because I saw what a beautiful opportunity parenting could be, especially with the principles of the restored gospel. I just couldn't wait.

Now, I am a young mother myself. I have two small babies, ages one and none. I have a wonderful husband who is so good and patient with me and who is a better father and provider than I ever imagined he'd be (and I thought he'd be a good one). I have a little house in a small town and am loving making it my own. And I have a lot of love. It's not perfect. Anyone who knows me well knows I have a wish list a mile long; probably at the top of it is wishing my family was nearer. But it's better than I ever anticipated. You might say my dreams are coming true, day by day, moment by moment.

That's not to say I don't have any nightmares. If you saw me yesterday looking frazzled as I loaded my two small children, carseats, sixty-odd fresh-baked crescent rolls, diaper bag, music, and table activity in my dear neighbor's car for a church activity I was both helping to orchestrate and performing at, while my husband was at an evening meeting for work with our only car, you'd probably wonder if I wasn't in over my head. And maybe I am. But most of the time, I don't think so.

By the way, the Relief Society Anniversary Celebration (Relief Society is our women's organization in my church) I was helping with went well and my performance was I hope decent. I sang a solo version of this song, "May I Serve Thee," which I really think is beautiful. And thank goodness for my amazing friend Sarah that played for me last minute. The biggest disappointment of the night was I realized I never got to put on any make-up. (I don't usually put on much, but mascara is to me what lipstick was to my wonderful Grandma Mayse.) So I put on some mascara before bed. I felt a tiny bit better.

I spent some time earlier today browsing this blog that I saw recommended by a friend. It made me really reflect throughout the day on things I have learned (and am still learning) since being married and becoming a parent and also think more about things I am still figuring out. (A post or posts on what some of these lessons are is forthcoming, if anyone cares, but this post was getting ridiculously long.)

I then proceeded to waste my precious children's nap time, when I could have been productive or gotten a much desired nap, continuing to browse the internet and getting excited about all kinds of do it yourself projects to beautify my home. It a recent hobby (read: obsession).

Then tonight I was rocking my sweet baby Maggie before I put her to bed. (I can still call her baby, right? She's not two yet.) I was singing her songs and after each she would say "moh?" (more) in her sweet little voice. And I was just thinking how wonderful life is. I LOVE being a wife and mother. There is nothing better than this. I'm learning and growing so much, though I sometimes don't feel like it. I just wish time would slow down. My little girls are growing too fast and I want to enjoy every minute.

And as an added bonus to a happy day, tonight as Mike and I were enjoying a fifteen minute date of planting flowers in my new flower pots (that are so cute by the way), we found the keys I have been looking for the past week. And finding my keys was actually an item on my to-do list today. Mission accomplished.

If any of you are wondering, the keys were in this little pocket bag I keep seed packets in that happened to be hanging on the door to the garage. Definitely a Maggie-doing.