To all the moms in my life,

Happy Mother's Day! I don't think I can do this without crying, but since I'm typing, I guess that is OK.

To my Mom, who is my biggest fan and always has been. You are my cheerleader, and because of you I know I can do anything I put my mind to. You taught me that life isn't fair and to deal with it. You taught me how to be well-behaved and how to raise well-behaved kids. We share a love of reading, of major league baseball, of crafting, of Seinfeld and of Law and Order. You taught me by example what a wonderful marriage looks like. I am so lucky to have you as my mom and feel blessed and proud to be your daughter. You are the person that I love to talk to everyday. You love your family and you always puts others first. You are a wonderful grandmother and I love watching you interact with Mylie and Blake. Simply put, I love you so much.

To Mary, who is a wonderful mother-in-law. Thanks for raising such an amazing son. He is a wonderful husband and father and I know it is because of your influence. Thank you for teaching him his gentle nature with children and animals. Thank you for teaching him a love of reading. Thank you for teaching him to work hard. He is a great provider for our family and is not afraid of dirty dishes or dirty laundry. Thank you fo all the love and kindness you show to me. Thank you for being a wonderful grandma to Mylie and Blake. We are so blessed to have you in our lives!

To Grandma, who I miss everyday. Thank you for your abundance of love that you had for everyone. For your love of the Savior and your amazing example of leading a Christlike life. Thank you for teaching all of us about service. Thank you for backyard barbeques with homeade root beer, for windy Memorial Days decorating graves with you and learning about our family history, for letters, emails and instant messages once I was out on my own. Thank you for sharing in my big moments, no matter what choices I have made in my life, I know that you supported me and loved me. Thank you for all the love and memories that will sustain me until I see you again.

To Courtney and Bailey, who will make awesome mothers someday. Thanks for being such fun, wonderful, loving aunts. Mylie loves you guys to pieces and doesn't think her day is complete until she calls you to chat. She misses you like mad when we don't see you (and I do too). Thank you for the kindness and love that you show to my kiddos. Love you guys!

To Holli, my amazing sister-in-law and friend. Thank you for being such a great aunt to my kids. You are also an amazing mom to Darcy, Max and Eliza. I admire so many things you do and love that I can call you for advice or ideas. I love spending time with you.

To Alicia, who takes amazing care of Mylie and Blake twice a week while I work. Leaving my babies is not an easy thing to do, but leaving them with you makes it OK. I know that it is your job, but I know that you love them too, which makes it so much easier. Thanks for snuggling my baby boy when I can't and for providing a safe atmosphere for Mylie to have the time of her life in!

Thanks to Mylie and Blake, for the opportunity to be your Momma. I don't always know what I am doing and there are things I wish I'd done differently. I know there are so many things I need to improve, but I also know that I love you with every bit of my heart. I remember quite a few Mother's Days when my heart ached to be a Mom, who knew I would have two beautiful kids to fill that ache? Cheesy, but my cup truly runneth over.

Hugs to my girlfriends and cousins, who are wonderful moms raising wonderful kids in a tough world. Someone shared this thought today in church and it really touched me and helped me to remember how important my role as a mother is. “When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother’s heart, and she puts it into the baby’s mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies.” (E.T. Sullivan)