Last week was a hard mommy-ing week for me. It was a very, very hard week. Lucy fell and messed up 50% of her teeth (she only has two. . .) so I spent a decent amount of time at the dentist. I was very stressed out about this little tooth. My clean laundary was in a massive pile on my living room floor. Jackson was having a really rough week. My house was a mess. I was irritable, cranky with my kids, and even a little depressed. Then, I felt bad that I had been so irritable, cranky with my kids, and depressed. I was out with sweet Olivia and was feeling so low that I asked her, "Liv, do you think I am a good mama?" Yes, I was in fact looking for validation from my five year old. She said, "Yes, mama. You are a very good mama." I said, "What makes you think I am a good mama?" Without a word she pointed to my heart. Then, she made the sign language sign for "friend." She then said, "You are a good mama because I love your heart and I love that we are friends." I don't think that answer could have been any more what I needed. My two biggest goals as a mama are to keep my heart pure, right, and tender before the Lord and have amazing relationships with my kids. Wow. I needed that. I feel like I am muddling through this mom-thing sometimes. But, if I can keep my heart pure, right, and tender before the Lord and strive for great relationships with my kids it seems to override the yuckier stuff. Amazing. Thanks, Liv, for reminding me what this parenting thing is all about.