The Keyes!: Celebrating Mothers

I am so grateful for the wonderful mothers in my life.

I cannot express the gratitude, respect, and admiration I have for my mother! She has always been a great example to me. If there is anything good about me I think my mother can rightly take credit. She has always been my friend and ally. Simply stated, I love my mother!

And my mother Norma

Of course I was not an eye witness to Norma's "mothering-prime." But, I have seen the fruits of her efforts and I owe her so much for raising such a wonderful righteous daughter. Her efforts are one of the major reasons that I am so happy in life right now.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes about mothers:

“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie” – Tenneva Jordan

Mother – noun. 1. One person who does the work of twenty. For free.

“A mother is she who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take.”

Speaking to all mothers: “The good you have done, the kind words you have spoken, the love you have shown to others, can never be fully measured” – Thomas S. Monson

The definition of mother above is certainly not comprehensive or exhaustive. One of the defining attributes of motherhood is selflessness. This is a trait that I have seen countless times in both of my mothers, as well as in my eternal companion.

I am especially grateful this day for my wife Kim and her willingness to be a mother at a time when many of her peers and women in society look down upon that sacred calling.

One of the many things I loved about Kim as I was first getting to know her was how much she loved her little nieces (she still does). When she was with them I saw a glimpse of the wonderful mother that she is today to our beautiful children.

I know that being a mother is not always glamorous or even enjoyable (I'm being brutally honest here). There are moments when it feels like everything is falling apart, or that it is impossible to keep going on so little sleep. But despite the difficulties, there is no calling more noble than that of mother. I have seen qualities and attributes in Kim as a mother that I will never be able to fully develop to the same degree that she already has. The way she is able to nurture and teach our children frequently brings tears to my eyes and melts my heart.

Kim's selflessness and sacrifice are truly inspiring. I love sitting in class and seeing a notification that a new picture or video has been added to our Dropbox account, and excitingly opening up the new file to see what new craft, activity, or game Kim and Lyza are enjoying together. I love the way that only Kim can console her seemingly unconsolable daughter (although this is a rarity since Lyza is such a good girl). She has a bond with her children that I will never be able to match, and that is a testament to her unique and special role as a mother.

There is no one else that I would trust my sweet children with. There is no one else that I could ever be as excited to see at the end of a long day away from the house. I am so lucky to have such a great wife and mother to my children.

I am truly blessed to have such great mothers in my life.

Happy Mother's Day!

Now for a quick update on what has been happening around here:

Kim just recently took on a project/challenge to make a cheap and boring white duvet cover more interesting and beautiful. That involved a lot of safety pins, lots of pin-tucking, and even more patience.

Here is the finished product

Today is our last Sunday in Moscow. I doubt we will ever be in a stake again where every coat area looks like this

Lyza and Nixon have been enjoying each other. She likes him quite a bit. He is at a stage where he is really interested in the people around him and likes to watch everything they are doing

Lyza has a special ability to entertain

We've mentioned before what a crazy sleeper she can be

Here she has taken her pillow case off and is using it as a sleeping bag

Cute boy

Nixon is starting to look so grown up

Our fun girl playing

We went to Jamms last night and Lyza loved her frozen yogurt. She loves eating her "bezert"

In 2 days I will be done law school.

On Friday we found out that someone has signed a lease for our apartment in Moscow so we have breathed a few sighs of relief now that we will not be responsible for 2 months of double rent