family life

a couple weeks ago, we played mom to two different families. being a single person living in an apartment complex full of single people, i don't get to be around kids all that often. and while sometimes kids have meltdowns and it isn't easy, being around families of little kids is really fun.

something i noticed with both of these families is how there was a definite and visible focus on the gospel in their homes. they read scriptures, say prayers, have family home evening, make family goals, talk about modesty. i think about parenting a lot, as is probably evident, since i think the challenges facing kids these days are really scary and unique. so it's cool to see how modern families are working to combat these challenges.

it's also interesting to see how different families can be. different things work for different people, and that's fine. you need to do what's best for your family, your situation. 

another observation i made: i want my home to have a nice big common area, with lots of couches and chairs, so the whole family can sit around. for some reason some houses don't really have that? it's weird when the only place you can really sit is in the bedroom. although, probably when i'm a mom i won't have a spare minute for such things as reading. but it would be nice to have a place where we can all be together.

basically, the week of nannying just made me long to be a mother. does that sound weird? yeah kinda. but oh well. holding a baby is the best. bathing kids, playing games with them, eating together, driving around--all of it is pretty great. good thing they can be forever, right?