beautiful.

aWhat a beautiful feeling it is---to feel your baby move inside you. And to see her punch or kick your tummy. And they say to cherish this now, because the punching and kicking doesn't hurt yet. So I'm cherishing. It's impossible for any pregnant woman to constantly cherish every moment of pregnancy......cuz the moments kneeling next to the toilet, waking up to pee (again), and realizing that your hungry (again) can sometimes be frustrating. And I figure that Maybe I'm being a Captain Obvious right now, but I believe it's the same when the baby is here only, it's the baby who just peed (again) and who is also hungry (again).

But, THEN, there are the times when moms sit and think, and they cherish. They cherish waking up again to a hungry baby because even though they're tired, they have a baby, and he/she is alive and doing well. I cherish the movements in my belly because they mean she's alive and she's doing well. Those movements mean I'm really gonna be a mom. And I hope and pray that I spend more time cherishing then being frustrated. I cherish the excitement rather than the nervousness about all that has to be done before she comes.

 My grandma told me about how she prepared for her first baby...she didn't really get to! She didn't know exactly when she would get a baby girl, but all of a sudden she was there, and my grandma and grandpa had to make do. Their first daughter was adopted, thus the quick arrival. And my grandma said for a bassinet she used a laundry basket with a pillow inside. Awesome huh :)

I want to have a farm in my backyard with goats and chickens...like my mamas. Cows don't get to stay in the backyard....unless we had a real big backyard. And I want lots of children to fill the house and to help on the farm. I know for sure my kids will know about agriculture. I can't imagine not teaching them about how important it is. We already got the cows, but I really like goats and chickens. And of course we'll always have a dog running around causing trouble like Kojo does. Actually, I take that back, Kojo doesn't cause that much trouble, except for when he sleeps on the couches when we're not home. Other than that, that one little dog brings a lot of joy into this house. Everyone's different with how they feel about dogs, just like everything in life, but I sure am a dog person. And Colten sure is too. And I love in the morning when I'm half asleep and I get outta bed and look over and there's kojo laying on his belly with his two back legs spread in opposite directions, his head on his two front paws, and a look on his face like, "can someone please let me out so I can go potty now?" I loved how a couple mornings ago, I was sitting on Colten's lap on the couch, and Kojo just couldn't handle not getting any attention so it always starts with him putting his two front paws on our laps...then he sneaks one back leg up and slowly pushes himself up so that he gets to sit on Colten's lap too. We both just laughed.

I hate when Colten has to leave way too early in the morning, but I love how Kojo can sense that I'm uneasy still in bed by myself, he jumps up in bed (even though he totally knows he's not allowed to 99% of the time) and he curls up in a ball next to me and it makes me feel safe. He stays in one spot so he doesn't get the bed all dirty, and I swear he really can sense when I'm scared, because he only does it when I need him to, and I never have to say anything to him at all.

Well, this was as random as a post can get, motherhood, farms, and dogs. But aren't those all beautiful? To me, they are so much of what makes my life beautiful. I'm thankful my Heavenly Father knows what I love, and so He has filled my life with it. I guess the trick is, we all just have to remember to cherish the beautiful things and not get caught up in the not-so-beautiful.