A Little Mush and Gush.

I'm not a very mushy gushy person, but I felt the need to write this down so I don't forget it. So excuse me while I gush for a moment.

I love my girls. I always do and always will. Even when they drive me crazy. But there are certain moments when I can feel my heart just bursting with extra love for them. Moments when I take the time to slow down and really see just how small and precious they are.

Today I had one of those moments with Keira. Keira was sleeping for her afternoon nap. I let Hailey spend her quiet time watching Tangled while I tried to clean up the house and fold the pile of laundry I have been trying to fold for the past two weeks that has never gotten put away, but instead circulated as we wear it and wash it. It's just been a busy couple of months. Anyway... Keira was sleeping. Hailey was watching a movie. I had just sat down to fold laundry when I heard Keira crying through the monitor and Hailey's voice. Hailey had gone into the room to grab a doll that was on her bed, waking Keira up. Thinking Keira wasn't ready to be up yet I let her cry and cry, in hopes that she'd fall back to sleep. After some time I could tell she wasn't going to settle down and my mommy heart just couldn't take it any longer. I walked in to see little Keira standing up in her crib with tears coming down her face. She immediately tried to stop crying, which took some effort.

I took Keira downstairs to make her a bottle. While her bottle warmed, the two of us sat on the kitchen floor and played. Keira looked up and on the counter could see a toy stuffed lion. She immediately pointed to it and made her cute "ooh" noise she does when she sees something that interests her. I pulled it down and we began to play. I roared and brought it to her face. She smiled and took it from me. She played a bit and then dropped it on the floor. "Uh oh!" I said. She looked at me, smiled and reached for the lion. I told her to give the lion a hug and she did. She then dropped the lion. Again, "uh oh!". She picked up the lion, hugged it, and dropped it again. We did this over and over. It was in this moment that I realized just how sweet and precious she is. She was so happy and entertained by sitting on my lap, close to me (but not too close- she is not a cuddler), dropping the lion, picking it up and dropping it again.

It is so hard for me to describe the emotion I felt as I sat and played with her. It was simply an over abundance of love. I think Heavenly Father gives me these glimpses of her perfection on occasion to remind me just how precious she is. Too often I get caught up in all of the things that I need to do or all of the trivial things I think are important and I lose sight of what my girls mean to me. I forget that they won't be little for long.

My laundry still is not folded. My bedroom is the same mess it has been for weeks. But I feel so satisfied that I was able to share that small moment with Keira. I have had similar things happen with Hailey, when I have taken the time to stop and spend some real uninterrupted time focused on only her. I'm sorry to say it happens not near enough. But we all have room for improvement, don't we?