For the past two nights, I've had to leave some important events early because my kids were seconds away from meltdowns caused by exhaustion and I'm not a bad mom. This is us at my beautiful cousin's rehearsal dinner. 
Tonight I was thinking, "Well that stinks, but it's just part of being a mom." You take care of those other people first. Then I saw that someone posted on Facebook a hilarious list of "27 reasons kids are the worst" and I thought, "Having a kid wicked awesome totally rad rocks in the best kind of way. People just don't know." So, here are my
25 reasons kids are the best:
1. They make people randomly smile oh so sweetly at you, hold open doors for you, unload your shopping carts, scoot out of your way, carry things for you, and even sometimes give you free ice cream.
2. They will make you a better person: when you hear your two year old say an inappropriate word, you stop saying it; when you hear their frustrated groans over silly little things, you work on taking deep breaths and calming down in front of them; when you think about them at 16, you try not to text and drive.
3. They teach you how to enjoy the simple things in life, like having a favorite color, sitting in a rocking chair, seeing the fish at wal mart, or rocks.
4. They make it a hundred times easier break the ice and to make friends, "Hey, we should get our kids together to play."
5. They prove to you in a new way that God is real. A baby, knit together from two little cells whose heart starts beating for no perceptible reason, and who grows into something that has feelings and jumps and solves puzzles and likes Cheetos is unmistakably the work of His hands. And you get to see it!!
6. They give you a rock solid excuse to get out of anything, especially as newborns. Although, I still have the old standby of "Sorry, I can't. I'm walking my pet unicorn that day."
7. "Sometimes you never know the value of a moment until it's a memory."
8. They are an expression of your love. Your love for your spouse has come to life.
9. They will make you fall in love with your spouse in an otherwise unknown dimension. They show you your spouse's integrity (mine has a lot). And there is nothing sexier than my man laying on the floor, happily throwing giggly girls in the air even after a long day of work.
10. Sometimes you catch a glimpse of them turning just so or with the light just right and it's more beautiful than a sunset. Seriously cheesy. Seriously true. And then you think, "Dang, does she really look like me like everyone says?" And then you feel really good about yourself and you give your kid a lollipop.
I'm just kidding, I never did that.
11. They laugh and smile more freely and contagiously than anyone else.
12. They give you grace for others. What's important is that parents are just parents who love their kids and make what they think are the best decisions. We're all just trying to do our best and that looks differently for everyone.
13. They grant you entrance into an elite, super cool parent club, where sometimes we just complain, sometimes we brag, sometimes we feel more "grown up" than people who don't have kids and sometimes we just understand each other.
14. Tax break!
15. They open up a whole new world for scrapbooking, decorating, sewing and crafting and give it a new meaning: heirlooms, bonding, or making someone feel loved.
16. They teach you to be non-discriminatory. If any person close to their age or height is within a twenty foot radius, they are automatically friends. Best friends.
17. They think you know everything and that you're really important. And that's kinda nice to have around.
18. They will make a reason for a stack of books to be read. All sorts of books on sleep training, breast feeding, playing and learning, developmental stages, strong wills, shepherding their hearts, not to mention email subscriptions to parenting devotionals and developmental factoids and silly little blog posts like this. I heart reading.
19. They make sneaking little touches and kisses and bow-chicka-bow-wow looks with your spouse pretty fun.
20. They help you understand God and the relationship He wants with us: a nursing baby craves it's parent; a child trusts completely; a caring parent disciplines and guides without loosing their cool.
21. They give you an excuse to go down the slide, dance in the car, or splash in the parking lot puddles without looking totally idiotic.... Never mind. You'll still look stupid. But it's fun. 
22. They give you real empathy for nearly every news story.
23. They magically make grumpy cashiers and waitstaff as pleasant as they can be.
24. They make Christmas and birthdays and Easter baskets and gift shops WAY more fun. It really is better to give than to receive.
25. They need you to love them. It's why you love a newborn when they can do absolutely nothing, not even smile at you, in return. Sometimes I think this may be the biggest reason why God loves me. Because I just need him. And oh, how He loves us.
Which one of these reasons is your favorite? Which reason did I forget to add to the list?
