Who has been impactful in your journey as a mother? What lessons do you carry with you and share often through motherhood?

The Savior and my Heavenly Father as they continue to remind me I’m not parenting alone and that my kids are their kids too. Then there’s my village, my mom friends. They encourage and uplift and have taught me that we aren’t alone in our struggles and that our kids need that village of positive influence and strength as much as I do and to be that for other families. The biggest lesson is that the Lord just asks me to do my best, ask for help when I need it, and that He loves me and my kids.

What continues to inspire you in your motherhood journey?

My kids, it’s navigating their struggles and celebrating their successes that keep me moving forward and digging deep for my best self to give them. That love for them, and my “adopted kids” (their friends), drives me to keep learning, growing, trying, and evolving so I can help them be better humans than I am. But mostly so that they know they are loved. Every kid should feel loved and that someone sees them. Every mom and person needs that too. We nurture more than just our own families.

Share one of your favorite stories from motherhood?

Wow, that’s hard! I think it’s when my kids have met their siblings for the first time. There’s this buzz like they are being reunited with a best friend after many years and to see the love and adoration for someone they are just meeting is amazing to me. As a mom, I feel like they are experiencing that same rush of love that I feel! It’s such a joyous feeling! Especially as it carries over at home and they strive to help and care for this new sibling, reading, and cuddling. Those sibling moments are a reoccurring joy.