the big rescue.

"Blog" ends up on my To-Do list regularly, and it is never, ever crossed off. I could keep blogging with newborn twins, but baby number 4 sends me off into blog oblivion? And lots of other forms of oblivion, too. I don't think I'll ever "catch up", but I want to do better. This is our family record, and I love writing it and I love reading it.

Tonight, I want to remember something that happened yesterday.

We were planning to go on a walk between Conference sessions, but our apple tree really needed to get sprayed before we leave town (this past fall our apple harvest was enjoyed more by worms than by us.) So we decided to have Chris stay and spray, and I would walk the trail with the kids. Now, John and Quinn just go their bikes for their birthday and this was the first "major" ride we have undertaken. But it was sunny and the trail is pretty simple, so I had high hopes.

We were doing fine, going up a slight incline, when Quinn went tumbling off the side into the rocky dirt and plants. Her knees and hands were bleeding. I parked Owen and scooped her up. As I comforted her, we made the quick decision to turn around and head back to our van. What I didn't think about was that we had just gone up a slight incline, so turning around meant going down. I was still holding Quinn and checking her scratches when I heard John scream in terror. He had turned around, and his bike was racing down the path. He is such a new rider, he didn't know what to do. Faster than I could react, Carly (who was riding slightly behind him), leaped off her moving bike, which went crashing to the side. She ran after him, and just before his bike went crashing into the large rocks, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him off of his speeding bike. The bike crashed, and she held him while he cried in her arms. 

It was in incredible example of love and selflessness, and I was overcome by the Spirit as I watched. I started crying right there, thanking her for her goodness and courage. She simply said, "Its a good thing I'm so fast."

Being mom isn't easy. It often feels like I'm doing it all wrong, especially with Carly, who is so spirited and intense. But moments like that . . . it was a moment that taught me these people I'm raising are the way they are for a reason. They have divine attributes, and they are meant to do so much good. I'm so grateful I get to watch them grow, watch the people they become, and hopefully help them be what they are meant to be.

I'm grateful to be their mom.