Happy Fourth!

Happy 4th of July from our little family. Yeah, we know the same "get-up" looks ridiculous on Jared and adorable on Meg (certainly no one dares hold a differing opinion regarding Meg).

In the spirit of Independence Day, of course I reflected on the blessings of living in this great country, the price that was paid for our freedom, and how easy it is to take my good fortune in life for granted. Since Elder Eyring's General Conference Address a couple conferences ago, I have made an effort to be more grateful - I don't want to take my blessings for granted. I want to remember, every single day, that the Lord has blessed me and my family.

Yesterday and today I have given thought to the growth of our girls and their increasing capabilities and desires to become more independent. Ouch! It's not like I misunderstood the concept that my babies would eventually grow up. I've never felt like their growing up meant they wouldn't need me anymore and I've found that I have enjoyed my older girls as they've matured a bit and gained some independence. But even when I watch with pride and a swelling heart as they make great choices and learn those "life lessons" with grace (and sometimes not), why do I feel a stab to the heart at the same time? While there's got to be scads of answers to this question, the answer that makes the most sense to me is love. I just love my girls and that's that. Maybe it's hard for me to watch them grow up because they have to learn hard lessons...and that's hard for me too. Loving them means that even though my tendency is to do what I can to make life easy for them, I push against the grain of that "natural man" and do what I can to prepare them for the realities of life. And I feel inadequate to do that because when the realities of life press upon me, I often don't even know how to handle them for myself. And when I start feeling that wave of panic...that I might not know how to teach my kids well enough...I take comfort in knowing my girls are really God's girls entrusted to my care and hopefully He'll step in before I screw up too badly.

So I say Bring on the Independence! Let's get the stuff learned! And, gosh, please help me enjoy the journey!