Your Children Will Become What You Are..

"Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be." - David Bly. My mother in law made us this beautiful frame for Braxton before he was even born and this quote by David Bly was on it. I always thought it made sense, but I truly didn't understand it till now. My kids are the most important thing in my life. If you don't believe in love at first sight..you will when you have a child. When I had Braxton I loved him so much EVERYTHING scared me about him. I was that parent that the pediatrician hated, because I would call about everything. Lets just put it this way I called the doctor because Braxton hit his head and he had this huge lump immediately after falling. Terrified I called the doctor and he told me things to watch out for, but also that kids hit their heads all the time and this was probably nothing. He also then said and I can still quote, "Also Ashley the little gap he has in between his front teeth..if he hits that it will bleed like crazy..just hold pressure and he will be fine." You totally see he was telling me this before because he knew this would probably happen and he didn't want me to panic..because lets face it I was the one that would. My doctor was the best, but he also knew me and knew from the very beginning I was one that worried and I worried way too much. I knew becoming a parent that between my husband and myself we were responsible for these little humans we made. That means protecting them, providing for them, teaching them, and always loving them no matter what. HELLO that is terrifying!! The first year of being a parent I think I slept with one eye open the entire time. I was a freak to say the least. However, dealing with everything we had going on at the time I also realized I couldn't live my life in fear on a constant basis. Every year I grew more and more and realized the importance of being a strong Mommy. Braxton is now 5 and we are loving everything about him. He is playing t-ball this year, I believe he is already smarter than me, and seriously the kid wears his heart on his sleeve. He is by far the sweetest boy I know. He is extraordinary with his brother Brady who is now 16months old. Brady is my sassy, never stops eating, and huge daddy's boy. The boys are simply amazing and I wouldn't trade our lives with them for anything. Yes being a parents is exhausting, but the love I get from my kids is indescribable. Now let me get to my big point of this whole blog post. I love my kids more than anything, but my kids think I am Superwoman. Seriously in their eyes..Conrad and myself are EVERYTHING they want to be. If you have kids you know this and if you don't..just wait. Kids ADORE their parents! Now knowing this doesn't that make your job seem even more terrifying? You are their example. It doesn't matter what their friends or teachers do..ultimately it comes back to you! Your kids want your approval, they want your love, and they want to be just like you. See I always thought I knew that, but not like I do now. I look at Braxton and he seriously is the perfect mix of Conrad and myself. However, he wasn't just made that way..its from what he sees. My perfect example of this is when Braxton and myself were watching a movie together and he looks at me and just says, "Mommy I love how much my Daddy loves you." Talk about melting your heart. I am not here to tell you how fortunate I am to have a husband like I do (I will save that for another time :) )..my point is my children watch the relationship I have with their father. They see that love we have and they know how important it is to love one another. Your kids are watching and if you don't think they are..take a second and really watch them..You will witness so many pieces of yourself it is scary. Here's another example. I just ran my first half marathon. When I was at mile 10 I saw Braxton wearing my tshirt and waving his hands in excitement at me. He was cheering me on and wanting me to finish. When I did finish all he could talk about was running with me next time. He is constantly showing me his running skills and asking about when "our" next race is. He knows how much I enjoy exercising and he wants to be involved in everything I am doing. As I watch my kids grow I realize more and more my responsibility. God gave me these amazing young boys and its my job to show them everyday in my actions what this whole life thing is about. This whole blog post isn't to scare you in any way..its just my point to say life is too short to wake up with regrets..so be the real person you want to be..trust me someone thinks you are amazing and wants to be JUST LIKE YOU:)