Mothers are remarkable

Being here has given me a taste of what being a mother is like. I often find myself with toy cars in both hands making noises, chasing around the kids, sometimes trying to entertain them without much success and trying to keep them from killing each other. After a days work of changing diapers, feeding food, and running around I go home with a greater appreciation for the patients of mothers. Mothers don't get to go home after a days work, they are at work fulltime with their kids. After observing this and thinking about my own wonderful mother I know that their is no greater role in life than that of motherhood.
The older I get the more I see how great my mom is. She has always put the love for her family a top priority. My mom as always made me feel loved and special. She is hands down the best!!! I have often walked past my parents room to hear them praying for me and brothers. My mom has taught me to pray, study, and teach the gospel. My mom has largely shaped who I am today and continues to inspire me. I hope to one day be able to raise my kids as she has.
When I see these kids in ecuador daily growing without mothers I am deeply saddened. Mothers are so essential to the growth of children and I pray that me along with other volunteers can act as mothers to them and show them that love. Helping these kids has given me a deeper respect for my mom and other mothers who treat motherhood as the truly divine calling that it is.

I love my mommy:)

Christmas in Ecuador

Christmas is by far my favorite Holiday and before I left I was exited to see what it would be like to spend Christmas In Ecuador. There would surly be no snow, that I knew but was very very okay with:) Christmas Morning usually starts with my daddy coming into my room to get me and my little brother both of us usually already awake about to pee our pants ready to open presents. We wake up to smell of either cinnamon rolls, waffles, or pancakes. We go around in a circle as a family and open all our presents. Afterwards I usually call my friends to tell them what I got and we compare gifts over the phone. The rest of the day is spent with family and usually ends with my moms chicken noodle soup, my all time favorite!
This Christmas however was completely different and not my normal Christmas routine. Since I have been here I had not really been homesick until Christmas eve. I wanted so badly to be with my family. Something that I have learned here is how important family really is and on Christmas eve I really really wanted to be with them. I woke up on Christmas morning at about 6:00am not to my dad but to my alarm clock. The house didn't smell like breakfast and instead I put some oats in some yogurt and ran out the door to head to the orphanage. While driving down I was desperately missing my family. When we pulled into the Orphanage I decided that I would make the most of the day for the kids and give them the best christmas that I could. While walking in I realized that these kids didn't have a family to wake up to on Christmas, They didn't have a special Christmas breakfast, and they didn't get to spend Christmas feeling that extra love that seems to be in the home during the holiday season. I broke down into tears when I saw the kids and had to leave the room. The kids had no presents, family, or any other holiday traditions. Instead they woke up like it was just another day. I continually told the kids throughout the day "merry Christmas" and made sure they felt extra loved. Later in the afternoon we had one of the volunteer family dads dress up as santa and we brought the kids toys and sang Christmas songs to them. They loved the presents although some of them seemed to be more interested in the wrapping paper... I left that day feeling so blessed to have been able to spend Christmas with these kids. Christmas wasn't about me this year and I didn't get any presents or the special attention that kids usually get on Christmas. I was humbled by the experience and although I dearly missed my family I realized that this was possibly the best Christmas ever. All the other Christmas sort of blend together but this one will stick out and be unforgettable.