I’m a Mother!

So this past Sunday was my first real Mother’s Day! Matt was SO sweet, too. He brought me flowers the night before and said they were for Brennen’s mom then he cleaned the kitchen that night and when Brennen woke up at 6:30 Sunday morning he got up and shut our bedroom door so I could sleep in. Then about an hour later I woke up to my little boy being tossed on my bed so he could attack me and Matt was in the doorway with breakfast in bed. And it was seriously SO yummy, too! Then “Brennen” also gave me some sour gummy worms, a big bag of chocolate, and a pair of earrings. Then Matt had to go to work so B and I went to church then spent all day at Matt’s parents.

It’s still a little weird that I’m a mom! You’d think that I’d be used to the concept after almost a year but it still blows my mind sometimes. In church there were some really amazing talks given about the role of women as mothers and even though I was wrestling with my little guy the whole meeting it still really hit me that I’m doing the most important thing that I could ever do by being a mother.

I’ve had a lot of great examples of motherhood in my life.
My two biological Grandmother’s have both passed away but I was lucky enough to grow up in the same town as both of them so I got to spend a lot of time with them growing up. My grandma Tanner was always so funny and spoiled us rotten. She always had treats laying around and my mom would have to threaten to separate her from us during church because she couldn’t be reverent. I never doubted her love for me and all of my siblings. My grandma Rees taught me a lot about how to live life. She would get mad at me during my teenage years for treating my mother badly and even then I could see that she did it because of how much she loved me and my mom, her daughter. She really approved of Matt so after we got married our relationship grew closer and toward the end of her life she told me a lot of stories and I know that she sacrificed a lot to raise her children in the gospel and I’ll be forever thankful for that. My grandma Bennett is still alive and I’m sad that I don’t see her much but she also raised her kids in the gospel and I remember her having a lot of involved callings in the church and she is a hilarious woman. She raised the man who would marry my mom and become my father.
My two older sisters are wonderful mothers and I learn from them all the time. They are both patient, loving, kind, and are doing their best to raise their children in a tough world and in difficult circumstances.
My mother in-law Gwen is another great example to me. I’ve always felt welcomed and loved by her and she is such a good grandma to my little boy. Matt tells me a lot of things that he remembers about her when he was growing up and I know he holds her in a very special place in his heart. She has a strong testimony of the gospel and has raised a very righteous family and I really look up to her.  
My father passed away when I was only about 7 weeks old and my mom also had my two older sisters to take care of, ages four and one! And my mom was only 24 herself. I’ve told her a few times how amazing I think she is for making it through that and she’s told me “what else was I supposed to do? NOT make it through?” but I still think she’s amazing. She’s taught me so much and she too has always had such a strong testimony of the gospel. I love her so much and admire her more than any other woman I know.

My mom and me at my wedding

Me and my sisters

Gwen with Matthew and Brennen

My Grandma Bennett

Grandma and Grandpa Tanner

Grandma Rees (don’t worry, she’s not smoking a cigar, I think that’s a breadstick.) :)