25 Things About Motherhood That Make Me Smile

1. Rylee holding an empty plate (dumped on the floor of the restaurant) up to her ear and saying, "Heyyo"
2. Sarah, at the same restaurant, pouring parmesan cheese onto every single bite of her pizza
3. A spontaneous Sunday afternoon trip to a drive-thru safari
4. The looks on both their faces when they saw all the animals, especially the monkey doing back flips
5. Sarah seeing a commercial for a Fisher Price crocodile block set and telling her sister, "Rylee, I'm going to ask Santa to bring you one of those for Christmas, because I know you want one."
6. Complete strangers stopping me in public to tell me how adorable my children are
7. At church, looking over during prayer, and seeing Sarah's hands folded, head bowed, and eyes closed
8. Saying prayers at bedtime and praying for the crickets chirping outside the bedroom window
9. Both girls sitting in their Daddy's lap having a "movie date"
10. Praying that someday they'll both fall in love with men as wonderful as their Daddy
11. The way Rylee puts her sweet little hand just inside my shirt and pats or rubs my chest for comfort or when she is really tired
12. Coloring pictures
13. Finger paints
14. Having "feet ghosts" hanging from the ceiling fan in our living room
15. The whole side of our fridge being covered in artwork
16. Rylee's fascination with her belly button
17. Sarah's excitement at going to the mailbox to see what movie Netflix sent her. Today we'll get A Bug's Life
18. Sarah being more excited about ringing lots of doorbells than all the candy she'll get trick-or-treating
19. Playing "Salon" when I do their hair. It keeps the screaming to a minimum
20. The face Rylee makes when she is up to no good...so mischievous
21. Sarah telling the Sunday school teacher, "When I eat a lot and get lots of sleep, then I'll be four."
22. Counting "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi"...all the way to 30 when we brush teeth
23. Catching myself counting it in my head when I brush my teeth
24. Rylee waving bye-bye and blowing kisses to the phone when her Daddy calls from work
25. The way Sarah says, "Well, I'll letcha go. Bye. I love you!" when she's getting off the phone with someone.