Friday, May 8, 2015

Dearest Mothers - You Are Enough~

Today I am wishing for all you awesome Mothers and Grandmothers out there
 a very Happy Mother's Day!
Through the years as a mother; I never felt I was enough. I knew I wasn't a perfect Mom and I now know that there is no such thing. But, I do know that I desired with all my heart to be a good mother. I know that is your desire too. We all make mistakes in mothering our children. We are all new when beginning motherhood and each of the special spirits that bless our lives come with various personalities and needs. It is up to us to discover what those individual needs are and try to meet them. I now know that the scriptures are a great parenting manual; I didn't know that then. There will be times when we won't know the perfect thing to do but we do our best and we are enough. 
I know that there are so many mothers out there in different circumstances. There are very young mothers, older mothers, mothers who have adopted their children, women who have not been blessed with children. There are women that have lost babies and or older children through sickness or accident. There are single mothers which struggle raising children by themselves. There are some mothers that despite their best effort their children struggle and turn away from their teachings.There are working mothers and I have been one. It is hard to balance home life with work. 
I believe that being a mother is all a part of being a woman. It is a divine role. We can all mother children while on this earth in some way. If we aren't blessed to have children in this life we certainly will have children in the Celestial Kingdom. We will not miss out on those promised blessings. Here is a wonderful message entitled: "Are We Not All Mothers".
 I believe that we do have a Heavenly Mother. It doesn't make sense that we would have a Heavenly Father and that we are his spirit children without a Mother in Heaven. I am grateful to know and feel this deep within my heart. Check the links above for more information.
As a mother of six plus spouses, grandmother of 32 and great grandmother of 4; I have had a few years of experience. I have learned many lessons about how to be a mother and if I could be a younger one now, I think I would be a better mother than I was. However, after all the mother's day programs where I felt lacking; I now feel enough. I wish I could have felt that earlier.
I know that I loved and do love each one of my precious children, grandchildren and great grandchildren with all my being.
Our Wonderful Granddaughters and Grandsons~
Plus Our Missionary Grandson~
 I think of all the precious moments of mothering. What a privilege it was to bare and give birth to each of my children. I carried those children inside close to my heart. I felt them moving about with a few somersaults and felt so blessed. Giving birth to each one of them were powerful spiritual moments in my life and that of my dear husband. I can bring forth tears just thinking of holding each one of them for the very first time. It was so fun to watch them as they grew and progressed. I know that because of working I missed one of my children's first steps and it tore at my heart strings. I didn't want to miss a single minute of motherhood. 
I struggled somewhat with the noise levels in our home as we added each of our children. I had been raised as almost an only child due to my brothers being 6 and 9 years older than me. I sometimes didn't have the patience that I wanted to have. I prayed so hard to always be a patient and kind mother. This was an ongoing goal in my mothering. 
Sweet Moments With My Children ~
I actually enjoyed teenagers which some would laugh at. There were hard moments but so many fun ones. I loved when they would come and share all of their experiences with friends and dates. It was so fun to take pictures of their High School moments and share in their sports activities and proms. It was so fun to hunt for hours for that pattern and material for a prom dress for each of my girls. I didn't sew well like my mom so I had to pay to have their dresses made. I loved watching my boys play in various sports and excel in other things; what memories they bring.  I loved being a Mom. 
My favorite thing to do with a baby; take a nap!

Here Are Some Thoughts And Photos Of The 
Special and Beloved Mothers In My Life~
My Angel, Mom~
My Beautiful Mom and Me~
That brings me to my Mom. My Mom passed away 9 years ago. It seems like forever. I loved her so much. She was an awesome Mom. I always felt I could go to my Mother with any concern and I did. There are times even now when I would love to call my Mom up and hear her voice and listen to her counsel. Happy Mother's Day to my Angel Mom.
 Happy Mother's Day to my dear Angel Mother in Law, Nyal. I treasured her and have tender memories of being with her. She was one of the kindest souls I know. She would do anything for any one of us. I miss her so. 
My Sweet Mother In Law~
I only had one Grandmother that I knew and she meant so much to me.She had a profound impact on my life. I spent many wonderful times with her. She is the reason that I became a nurse because she was one. You can read a short nursing history of her here. She passed away when I was only 12 years old. I have truly missed her through the years.
My Grandmother and Me~
I feel so blessed to have 6 lovely Mothers of my grandchildren and two sweet Mothers of my great grandchildren. They are all such awesome women and mothers. I hope they know how much I love each one of them. These marvelous mothers are enough and I hope they know that. 
One evening I had my dear great granddaughters here. The two little girls went right to the toy closet and pulled out the dolls and the little strollers. It was a perfect picture of future Mothers in training. My heart was full of love for these precious little ones.
To all Grandchildren, remember that your Mom's Rock. They would do anything for you. When you think they are being to hard on you remember that they are there for you no matter what. 
As an example, when my 21 year old son came home from his mission, he was considered an adult. One night he went out and didn't come home at a reasonable time and I stayed up and waited for him. When he finally arrived around 4 am. He asked; "Why are you still up"? I simply told him I couldn't go to sleep without knowing if he was OK. He said, " But, mother I was away for two years and you didn't wait up for me". I replied; "yes, that was true" but now he was home and he would always be my treasured son and I needed to know if he was OK.  "Just call and let me know if you are going to be late while you are living with us" and he did. Remember once a Mother always a Mother no matter what the age of your child. 
ENJOY ALL THE MARVELOUS MOMENTS OF MOTHERHOOD - 
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY FOR ALL!
Here is a marvelous video to watch: #TimeForMom

4 comments:

Barb said...

Hi LeAnn!

Happy Mother's Day!!

What beautiful tribute to all the mothers in your life! I always love to see your pictures . . . so precious!

The picture of you and your mom, when you were a baby, reminds me of our sweet, Averi, when she was a baby!! And you look so much like your beautiful mom...so sweet!

I've always loved that poem...

Such a tender post!

Hugs and Much Love!

Barb

Debbie said...

Your vintage images are such a treasure!! Beautiful thoughts you shared, happy Mother's Day LeAnn, I hope you have a special day!!

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Happy Mother's Day to you!

Susan Anderson said...

This was kind of the topic of my Mother's Day talk. It's hard to believe that a mom like you would feel "not enough," but I know it's a common experience for mothers everywhere.

We need to be more gentle with ourselves!

=)