It’s not all challenges, this parenting thing. In fact, it’s mostly good. Amidst the struggles and doubts that inevitably come up (see Where’s She Getting That From? and Keeping My Eyes Open), there are many moments of sweetness.

Moments of magic, actually.

Like when my daughter surprised me and changed the ring tone on my cell phone to be a recording of her own voice. Now every time my phone rings, I hear her saying, “I love you, Mommy. I love you. You’re the best mommy in the whole world. And I miss you right now. I love you, Mommy…” I can’t tell you how many times that ring tone has stopped me in my tracks and made me smile. Even choked me up.

There are other moments, too. Like last week when my kids were trying to decide what movie to watch…

“You can choose because it’s your birthday tomorrow,” my son told my daughter.

“I kind of want to watch a TV show and not a movie, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” she said back to him.

“That’s okay,” he answered. “You can do whatever you want. I don’t mind. It’s your birthday.”

I wish I could’ve recorded it.

And what about the time when I came home from being gone for a few hours and found two vases of flowers–flowers my kids had picked for me–on the table?

Or just this morning, when I went into the kitchen to get breakfast started and found this little note from my son stuck on the counter:

Moments like these–moments of magic that weave their way into this journey called parenting–make all the challenges along the way more than worth it.

Much more.