Things that matter most. . .

As soon as Hayden was sitting in his high chair I was teaching him to fold his arms during the prayer. I knew he had no clue or concept of what he was doing at the time. That started when he was 4 months. There were times that I thought: Gosh, this is pointless to keep having him fold his arms at every meal when he doesnt know what's going on. But when he did this for the first time on his own at 11 months. . . it made me cry.

I know I will teach him a lot of valuable things to come, but this is the thing I am most proud of so far. I know that if he learns to pray to our Heavenly Father at this age how blessed he'll be to be able to rely on him his whole life.
I am so blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It is such a strength to be able to rely on it to teach my little family. I would be lost without it. I'm thankful that I can pray to a Heavenly Father that I know listens and hears me. I have such a testimony of prayer and the power of it. I hope I can always lead by example in showing my kids to pray.
I read this talk by Julie B. Beck and it's from the October 2007 General Conference. It's great but I love this part most. It was a great reminder to me, as a mother, of what really matters.

"Mothers who know are leaders. In equal partnership with their husbands, they lead a great and eternal organization. These mothers plan for the future of their organization. They plan for missions, temple marriages, and education. They plan for prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. Mothers who know build children into future leaders and are the primary examples of what leaders look like. They do not abandon their plan by succumbing to social pressure and worldly models of parenting. These wise mothers who know are selective about their own activities and involvement to conserve their limited strength in order to maximize their influence where it matters most.
Mothers who know are always teachers. Since they are not babysitters, they are never off duty. A well-taught friend told me that he did not learn anything at church that he had not already learned at home. His parents used family scripture study, prayer, family home evening, mealtimes, and other gatherings to teach. Think of the power of our future missionary force if mothers considered their homes as a pre–missionary training center. Then the doctrines of the gospel taught in the MTC would be a review and not a revelation. That is influence; that is power."  Julie B. Beck