Here's What...

Here's what has been on my mind this week.
Parents love their children individually. Not equally. Not comparatively. A child is loved for the characteristics they alone posess. Not the qualities of their siblings, that they might not share. A parent loves their child based soley on the fact that they are their child. We love them for who they are, just because they are ours. Every child deserves their own relationship with their parents. To judge one's self based on the the way a sibling is raised or loved, is selling yourself short. You are not that person, and therefore, will not be brought up exactly in the same manner. How can a parent raise one child exactly like the other? Each child has their own special identity and deserves to be raised to compliment that personality. So, if you tend to compare yourself to your sibling(s), maybe you have some unresolved insecurities in your own mind that need to be addressed. The other sibling(s)should never be blamed for their own positive characteristics. No one is perfect, we all have our own insecurities, flaws, and traits we need to improve upon. It is a parents job to highlight the positive so a child gains confidence and feels loved. That is a very personal thing. If you believe you are not as loved/liked as one of your siblings, than you are only misguiding yourself. So, you might want to ask yourself, "why do I really feel this way?" Because I believe if you seek honest answers, you will find that you are loved exactly for who you are, and no more or less than another. To believe a parent might love one child more than another is a horrible insult to the sacred role of parenting, and I have a very strong feeling Our Heavenly Father feels the very same way. He loves us individually, and judges our own progression in this life and would never compare us to the person beside us and the path they are on. I love each of my children for the individuals that they are, for their own character traits that compliment who they are, and who they will become. I also love their shortcomings, because I am their mom and everything they do is a wonder to me. Nobody else will EVER feel that way about you!(Dad excluded) I am inspired by each one of them every single day. I am fully aware that it is not the work of myself that created such amazing people. They get the credit for who they are, along with the mercy of a Heavenly Father, who has blessed them for their faith and diligence. And I pray I can be the mother they deserve.

The End of an Era

                                                       Liz-E and A-Liz~ then and now

Last night was Abby's 8th grade cheer banquet. Those things are always brutally long with bad food and rowdy kids. But knowing that her junior cheer days are over was very sad. Next step...high school. Oh boy.