Precious Moments with Children

So long in between! Guess I was waiting for something really good.

Last month I got to spend time with my brothers, sister, and nephew. On Sunday Adam feel asleep on my lap for the last 15 minutes of Sacrament meeting. The speaker was a girl talking about her experience as a missionary in Argentina. She said a mission was a lot harder then she expected, but turned out to be exactly what she needed. I had been thinking about how my life isn't exactly what I expected at this point, but as I cherished the sleeping nearly 2-year old on my lap, I was struck with just how precious certain moments can be.

I had the same experience tonight. I was babysitting for a friend's nearly 18-month old. We walked outside, dipped out toes in the pool, slapped the poolside table, pointed out the birds and the wind, and touched flowers. I didn't rush her back inside the apartment, even though sweat dripped down my back. I didn't rush bathtime or reading books for bedtime, and I rocked a few extra moments with her before laying her down in her crib.  I spend about 2 hours with her before bedtime. As I was rocking her I thought to myself, soak it in!

Yesterday I was reading an address given by Carol M. Stephens, the first counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency called "The Family Is of God".  In reference to a woman who considers herself a Grandmother to everyone, Sister Stephens said-

"She understands that “whenever a woman strengthens the faith of a child, she contributes to the strength of a family—now and in the future.”⁹

^{And in another address, Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson,  the Young Women General President, said-} 

^{"We need to take a term which is sometimes spoken of with derision and elevate it. It is the term homemaker. All of us—women, men, youth, and children, single or married—can work at being homemakers. We should “make our homes” places of order, refuge, holiness, and safety. Our homes should be places where the Spirit of the Lord is felt in rich abundance and where the scriptures and the gospel are studied, taught, and lived. What a difference it would make in the world if all people would see themselves as makers of righteous homes. Let us defend the home as a place which is second only to the temple in holiness. "}

^{I'm full of gratitude tonight that I can have moments where I can contribute to the comfort, safety, and teaching of a child, as well as strengthening faith and family, even when the children are not my own. I am proud to consider myself a homemaker as one of the many hats I wear.}