Happy Mother's Day - a post from Peter

Happy Mother's Day Janna

Kids are so smart. What is the universal word used by children from 9 months to age 3 to signal that they need something? It's "Momma!" Susie is yelling it now as I type, even though Janna isn't here. If a little kid is hungry, frustrated, wants out of the crib, needs the lids of of all the permanent markers in the house or can't figure out how to get down from on top of the fridge, they all say "Momma." Mom is love. Mom is care and companionship. She is the one kids count on.

In college I spent many weeks reading various studies that tried to determine the most important factor how well children fared after they were adopted. For years researchers said the most important factor was the age at which the child was adopted. Around 1997 some new research came out with a factor that has turned out to be far more important in adoption outcomes than the age at which the child was adopted. That factor is the early life experience (between birth and the age of 2) in the home. Not only is this important for children who are adopted, I believe it is an important factor for all children.

I am grateful to Janna for her complete dedication to our family and to Anna, Carter, Susie and our little baby girl in development. She places the needs of our family in higher regard than her own sleep, comfort and ability to do what she might otherwise want to do - though most of the time helping our family IS really what she wants to do. I love her so much. The thing that stood out to me the most about Janna on our first date is that she puts family first. Her deepest desires and richest experiences were all centered around her family. With the last name "Grossnickle," I was called a lot of different names in High School, but the name I most wanted to be called was "Daddy." I used to daydream about having a little girl and being her hero. I thought about her first date, and about missing an important meeting so that I could be at her birthday party or softball game so that I wouldn't let her down. It was a joy to me to date Janna and find out that she was just as excited about family, if not more so, than was I.

I honor Janna today on Mother's Day for the many things she does every day that require her to put the needs of our children before her own. On Sundays I am usually gone to the church by about 9:15am and our church service starts at 1:00pm. So every Sunday she gets 3 kids under the age of 6 and herself dressed, fed and ready for church. The kids always look so beautiful and handsome when I see them at church. All I have to do is take one look at Janna to see what kind of mass-scale trouble trouble the kids have put her through.

I honor Janna today because our kids look to her all the time to figure out how they should act and often mimic her. When Carter comes up to me out of the blue and tells me that he loves me, it's not because he learned it from watching Dora. When Anna hands me a love letter than she drew for me without anyone asking her to and points out all of the hearts, it's because Janna loves me and teaches Anna how to show love to me and others. When Susie is hanging out with me early in the morning and keeps bugging me to go upstairs and wake Janna up, it's because she wants to wear Janna's shoes. And it's because she can't wait to Janna smile at her.

Janna has changed so much over the last 7 years (we were married 7 years ago tomorrow). I know she wishes some of the changes could be reversed (discomforts of pregnancy and all of the changes her body goes through in order to prepare for the birth of a baby), but she has grown in amazing ways as a person. "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven," and it can be seen in the life of my wife.

Thank you for being such a good Mother and teaching the kids those things that are most important. When our kids become great people in the community and in the nation, it won't be because their dad taught then not to leave fingerprints on glass or how to make good ice cream; it will be because their mother taught them how to be great. I think this nation would be much greater if we valued motherhood more than we currently do and if we learned to give good mothers the praise and honor they deserve. I love you Janna.