My friend and collector Micki is the mom of two precious kids, Henry and Francis.

I met Micki several years ago through another one of my collectors, Colleen. She saw the portrait I did of her son and wanted ones of her kids.

I had a lot of fun doing these portraits. Everything from the beauty of the children and their personalities, to the home, made these some of my favorites.

Francis' personality is soft and delicate. She's a girly-girl.

And Henry is definitely a wild child. I could hardly get him to stand still for one picture!

I just love Francis' blue eyes, and Henry's glossy hair...

I asked Micki if she would share some of the greatest lessons she's learned as a mom for this blog post. (I've been featuring the wisdom of my collectors on a weekly basis.)

The first thing I wanted to know was what her biggest fears, worries, concerns are as a mom.

She said her biggest worries about motherhood is that "one day I will have to let go of them and hope that I did the best I job I could at raising them."

And when I asked her what the top two lessons she's learned are, she said:

"My daughter and son are truly the most wonderful gifts from God. I have had to learn (the hard way!) that nothing has to be perfect. They are going to be messy and they are going to laugh while they are making the mess. They will be loud and it will hurt my ears, but its a joyful noise!

I have learned that if I don't stop and enjoy them in the present, it's going to get away from me. Fast.  They will be taller, chattier, wiser...all in the blink of an eye!"

This is what I hear from moms all the time! Learning to live in the moment with their kids and not worry about doing everything perfect.

And lastly, I wanted to know, what's the most important piece of advice you'd give to a mom-to-be?

"Stop and enjoy as many moments as you can with them. love them, teach them, learn from them. Sometimes their simple thoughts and words can be so powerful, and you stop and are truly thankful for the precious gifts that God gave you."

Amen to that!