My Testimony of our Bedtime Routines

I still love our nap and bedtime routine. Most days, it's my favorite part of the day, with both Ashtyn and Parker. The older they both get, the more I love it. It's a time I can connect with them, no matter how crazy or frustrating the day has been up to that point. It makes me feel like a good mom for reading to them everyday (and sometimes, you really need moments that help you realize you're not totally failing as a mom). And the Spirit is so strong, it is my personal reassurance from Heavenly Father that I am doing what He wants with my time here on earth. 

As I've been reading and singing to them lately, I've been pondering what makes this time so special. There are a lot of things. The connection that comes as we read and laugh and enjoy the books together. Them sitting on my lap and snuggling with me. The quiet, the peace, the one-on-one aspect. But one of the best parts is when I sing to them. 

When Ashtyn was young, I started singing songs from the LDS Children's Songbook and hymns, because those were the songs I knew. I have continued that and, as Ben has joined in with the bedtime routine (right now, he puts one girl down and I take the other one), he does that as well. Ashtyn loves them and knows a lot of them, but it has an added benefit for me. 

For me, singing those children's hymns really reinforces to me the fundamentals of the gospel. The songs are so full of simple testimony, it feeds my soul and reminds me how much God loves me and my children. It makes me a better mom. 

When I sing I am a Child of God, I feel how special she is, the little one I hold in my arms. She is loved and watched out for by the greatest being in the world and He has trusted me to take care of her. I will forever be grateful for that trust. 

Teach me to Walk in the Light reminds me that I have a job to do and it extends far and above simply making sure the girls have clothes and food. Right now is the best time for them to begin learning about God's love and His gospel and the way they do that is through me. I can't drop the ball.

Love is Spoken Here fills me with the sweetest desire to make our home a place where the Spirit resides. It is a gentle reminder to continue doing family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. If fills my heart with gratitude for such a loving and spiritually strong husband and that my children will grow up with that in their home. 

I'm Trying to be Like Jesus is often a rebuke for me. "Try to show kindness in all that you do, be gentle and loving in deed and in thought." Those lyrics speak so strongly to me of how I should parent and I'm not always the patient, loving mom I want to be. These words speak to my heart, saying, "Be a better mother. Show Ashtyn (and now Parker) God's love by the way you parent, discipline, and teach". I know that even by trying to act as Jesus did, I will be a better mother. 

I could go on forever. The songs seem endless and every single one of them holds kernels of truth and invite the Spirit to guide and direct me in my role as a mother. I am so grateful for my children, for the opportunity to be their mother. I am so grateful for grace, for the chance to repent when I'm not perfect. I am so grateful for the love of a Heavenly Father and for the beautiful music He has given us and that I get to be the one to share that with my beautiful daughters.