Marrying a Mom for My Kids

Okay, so that title may make it sound like I had kids before I was married. I didn't. But when I was dating, it was important to me that I find a girl who would be a good mother for my future children. I suppose you can never really tell for sure before a person has their own children what kind of parent they'll be, but there are some pretty good indicators - I won't list them here, unless you want to go further into that, I'm just saying you might want to place that factor higher up in what you look for in a spouse. What kind of parent would they be?

Being a dad has been a whole new experience for me. I've discovered good and bad aspects of my character I never could have anticipated before having kids of my own. It's not easy, and it's not always fun, but (sorry, I know this is SOOO cliche) it's so incredibly rewarding. (See my daddy blog for some of my adventures in parenting). I'm not saying I was one of those hard guys that was never big on kids but somehow ended up with some and that they softened him - actually, I was a weird nerdy kid who loved babysitting, playing with little kids instead of friends, and tried numerous times throughout the early years of my career to get a job working at a day care. Unfortunately, they don't like hiring guys to work with little kids. The chauvinistic little... but I'm not bitter...

And I love having kids, but I can tell you - it's not easy, and it makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD having a spouse who loves being a parent. Jenni is INCREDIBLE that way. While all her friends complain about needing "me" time, she starts missing the kids if she's from them for more than a couple hours. I feel like it's because of her that I LOVE being a parent. 

Sure, she'll probably be a blubbering mess when they start going off to school - but that's exactly the point. She loves being a mom. She can't stand the thought of someone else (besides the two of us) raising her children, and she's determined to teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ so completely that they won't misunderstand it. They will know the gospel, and by the way she teaches it, I think they'll love it - they certainly do so far. They already love the Savior, and when I see how much she loves the kids, it's so sweet and so beautiful that it just makes me love her even more.

Find someone who will be a good parent to your children - it will pay you back again and again and again.