sacrifice and love

I've decided that being a mom boils down to two words:

sacrifice and love.

In the four months that I have been a mom, I am amazed at how much I have grown as an individual and how much Tyler and I have grown in our marriage. It is almost laughable to think about how lame our life was before Saron. When we had free time, we could do whatever we wanted. We could hop in the car and go to the store anytime we felt like it. I worked to have money to spend on clothes, shoes, and things that I really didn't need. Before being a mom, I was self-centered, shallow and kind of boring. Now my life is filled with adventure... messy adventures that involve my miniature partner in crime 24/7. Now all the money that I earn goes toward paying the bills or saving for our future home. And going to the store is an incredible task, so I limit what I buy and really make thoughtful grocery lists before I head out. Even little things, like wasting time on the internet, go away now that I have someone so desperately needy to take care of (which is why my blog posts are so sparse these days).

Motherhood is such an overwhelming leap into an entirely new life and even though I have only had this life for four months, I can hardly remember my life before. Saron sleeps for 8-12 hours a night now, which is so nice. There are still times, though, when she will wake up at 3am totally starving and I will have to get up and feed her. Sometimes I get annoyed if Ty and I have been up late, but  most of the time I love the still and quiet late-night time we get to spend together. It is almost sacred. She looks up into my eyes as she eats and I quietly sing to her until she drifts back to sleep. There is honestly nothing in the world more special than those moments that I get to spend with her alone. And the nights when she sleeps for 12 hours, it's all that I can do to hold myself back from waking her up because I just get so excited to see her again! I miss her all night long when she isn't in my arms.

So to all my married friends out there who don't have kids yet... please don't wait any longer. You have no idea what you are missing out on. There are a million excuses that you can give yourself for waiting, and believe me, I know them all. Money, school, time, work... money... money... I know, I know. But trust me when I say that every single sacrifice that you make for your children will bless your life 1,000 times over. Even little sacrifices have the most incredible rewards that you would have never anticipated. Saron is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me and Tyler and it has made our love for each other grow so much more than it ever could have grown without her. I have never loved my husband, myself, and my Savior more, and I attribute all of that to our sweet baby girl. And I think she knows it, too. When she looks into my eyes, I can almost feel her spirit speaking to me. Thanking me for my sacrifices.