On the first day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
A screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the second day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Two missing shoes
And a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the third day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Three kissed boo boos
Two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the fourth day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Four fish stick dinners
Three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the fifth day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
FIVE GOODNIGHT KISSES!
Four fish stick dinners, three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the sixth day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Six loads of laundry
FIVE GOODNIGHT KISSES! Four fish stick dinners, three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the seventh day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Seven broken ornaments
Six loads of laundry, FIVE GOODNIGHT KISSES! Four fish stick dinners, three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo
On the eighth day of of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Eight "Mind your manners!"
Seven broken ornaments, six loads of laundry, FIVE GOODNIGHT KISSES! Four fish stick dinners, three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo
On the ninth day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Nine diaper changes
Eight "Mind your manners!" seven broken ornaments, six loads of laundry, FIVE GOODNIGHT KISSES! Four fish stick dinners, three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the tenth day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Ten "I love you"s
Nine diaper changes, eight "Mind your manners!" seven broken ornaments, six loads of laundry, FIVE GOODNIGHT KISSES! Four fish stick dinners, three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the eleventh day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Eleven Tattlers Telling
Ten "I love you"s, nine diaper changes, eight "Mind your manners!" seven broken ornaments, six loads of laundry, FIVE GOODNIGHT KISSES! Four fish stick dinners, three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
On the twelfth day of Christmas motherhood gave to me...
Twelve sleepless nights
Eleven Tattlers Telling, ten "I love you"s, nine diaper changes, eight "Mind your manners!" seven broken ornaments, six loads of laundry, FIVE GOODNIGHT KISSES! Four fish stick dinners, three kissed boo boos, two missing shoes, and a screaming baby in a jumparoo.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
What I have learned from my kids...so far.
God has generously blessed my husband and I with three healthy children and a fourth to make his appearance in August. I have said MANY times that my kids teach me regularly. They teach me as much if not more than I teach them. I am by no means in the ranks of a seasoned mom(my oldest is only 7) but I as I look back on these 7 years I can already see the many lessons I have gleaned from this crazy ride called parenting. So here is my list of 20 things I have learned so far. Some of them are funny(in my opinion), some serious, but all are part of me and our little circus.
1. Life rarely turns out like you plan. I know you can learn this without kids, but this was a lesson I learned from day one of being a mom. My first son was born after 8 hours of labor via c-section. I broke all the "rules" I had set for myself in the first 24 hours. I had severe postpartum depression for the first three months and the first 5 months or so of my boy's life out of my womb are a blur to me. Would I change any of that? No. As my husband says, "It is what it is." The unexpected makes life interesting, makes me wiser, and definitely helps my faith and my prayer life.
2. Hot dogs will survive a trip through the washer and the dryer.
3. Boys and girls are wonderfully different.
4. I can't look to my kids for emotional fulfillment. They are fallible humans just like me. They are incapable of filling the void in my heart. Only God can do that. My kids love me and I am over the top nuts about them. We let each other down. We can't help it.
5. Kids will show you your faults. ALL of them. I sometimes get mad at one of my boys for a response and then I realize it's the exact same response that would come from me.
6. When kids are tired(at least my kids) they add an extra syllable to words. For example, with a whiny voice, "Mommy" becomes "Mommy-a!" or "ow" become " oww-a!"
7. I need my own parents more today then I did before I had kids.
8. Baby powder when shaken lightly over an entire room takes a long time to clean up.
9. Sometimes it's better not to ask.
10. My kids are hilarious. Really.
11. I always knew how special a daddy/daughter bond could be; I just never realized how amazing it would be to watch my husband and daughter share one.
12. Just when you think you have your kid figured out they change.
13. God gave me a good man. Again, not necessary to have children to learn. But when I see my husband with my kids, and the way he loves them, I realize how blessed I am.
14. I can handle more than I thought.
15. Throw up no longer scares me and rarely grosses me out.
16. Good mommy friends are a nessecity.
17. I was a much better parent before I had kids.
18. I am now so thankful for the time of day called, "bedtime".
19. I now understand the phrase, "Pride and joy".
20. It is only by God's amazing grace that I have accomplished any good in raising my kids. Being a parent is so hard but the Lord has been so faithful.
1. Life rarely turns out like you plan. I know you can learn this without kids, but this was a lesson I learned from day one of being a mom. My first son was born after 8 hours of labor via c-section. I broke all the "rules" I had set for myself in the first 24 hours. I had severe postpartum depression for the first three months and the first 5 months or so of my boy's life out of my womb are a blur to me. Would I change any of that? No. As my husband says, "It is what it is." The unexpected makes life interesting, makes me wiser, and definitely helps my faith and my prayer life.
2. Hot dogs will survive a trip through the washer and the dryer.
3. Boys and girls are wonderfully different.
4. I can't look to my kids for emotional fulfillment. They are fallible humans just like me. They are incapable of filling the void in my heart. Only God can do that. My kids love me and I am over the top nuts about them. We let each other down. We can't help it.
5. Kids will show you your faults. ALL of them. I sometimes get mad at one of my boys for a response and then I realize it's the exact same response that would come from me.
6. When kids are tired(at least my kids) they add an extra syllable to words. For example, with a whiny voice, "Mommy" becomes "Mommy-a!" or "ow" become " oww-a!"
7. I need my own parents more today then I did before I had kids.
8. Baby powder when shaken lightly over an entire room takes a long time to clean up.
9. Sometimes it's better not to ask.
10. My kids are hilarious. Really.
11. I always knew how special a daddy/daughter bond could be; I just never realized how amazing it would be to watch my husband and daughter share one.
12. Just when you think you have your kid figured out they change.
13. God gave me a good man. Again, not necessary to have children to learn. But when I see my husband with my kids, and the way he loves them, I realize how blessed I am.
14. I can handle more than I thought.
15. Throw up no longer scares me and rarely grosses me out.
16. Good mommy friends are a nessecity.
17. I was a much better parent before I had kids.
18. I am now so thankful for the time of day called, "bedtime".
19. I now understand the phrase, "Pride and joy".
20. It is only by God's amazing grace that I have accomplished any good in raising my kids. Being a parent is so hard but the Lord has been so faithful.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
FEAR
The soft tick of the wall clock and the sounds of my husband and daughter sleeping was the music to that night. I laid in bed at my parent's house with my eyes wide open. It was well after midnight and the rest of the house was fast asleep with full bellies and hearts after a great Christmas day and evening together. My Christmas wishes were met and I was with the people I care about most. What could possibly keep me up? Fear. Dictionary.com defines fear as a noun "a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid." I would like to say this was a one-time thing, but it wasn't. In fact, I had been dealing with a lot of fear lately. It hit me out of nowhere and I don't like who I am with it on board. I could tell you of what I was fearful but it doesn't matter all that much. Each of you have your own fears. Some fear is good. The fear of being hit by a car is good to teach children, so they don't walk out into the street. The fear of hurting a loved one is good because we need to gaurd our mouth and actions. I am not talking about that kind of fear. I am talking about the kind that keeps you up, makes you anxiety ridden, and can leave you breathless. This last week God has taught me a lot about fear. I am not expert and certainly haven't conquered it but I want to share with you how I am learning to deal with it.
1. God tells us in His Word in some way to not be afraid 365 times. That's one for every day of the year. Charles Sprugeon said in his devotional, Morning and Evening1 that "We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives." I think that applies here. I have also read in scripture that we are commanded to not be afraid, BECAUSE God is with us. He is our strength, our refuge. He is with us wherever we go.
2. Don't make decisions out of fear. This is something my husband and I have tried to put into practice in every aspect of our lives. Whether it comes to our money, our children's education or our emotions, we work very hard to seek the Lord and let the Holy Spirit guide us. I have found fear-based decisions rarely yield good long-term results.
3. Go ahead and play it out to the end. Beth Moore, an awesome Bible teacher and author gave this direction in one of her Bible Studies. She said if you are scared of something to go ahead and go through the what ifs. For example: What if my husband loses his job? We would have money for about a week. Then what? Well, we would clean out the pantry. Then what? We would start selling/pawning things to buy what we needed. Then what? You get my/her point. Play it out until you get to the end of the line. When all you have left is you, and all you can do is look up. When you look up you see that you aren't alone. Remember, God promises in His Word to never leave us.
4. Remember what fear is. F.E.A.R is Forgetting Everything's Already Resolved. God is sovereign. He holds the world and the future. He designed it, so He knows the beginning, the end and all that is in between. That same God loves us so much and wants us to rest in the fact that He has it all figured out. We don't have to fear because God already knows the ending. He is taking care of us. Yes we have to make godly, sound decisions. No, this is not a call to complacency. It's a comfort and a joy to know that we don't have to be afraid.
The particular fear I was having the other night is gone. I was able to let it go because I realized two things. One. Being fearful takes a lot of energy. Two.(This one I learned from my dad) If the God who made the universe can't keep safe, work out, etc. whatever we are fearing, what makes us think in our finite humaness, that we would be able to fix it by worrying and being scared.
1. God tells us in His Word in some way to not be afraid 365 times. That's one for every day of the year. Charles Sprugeon said in his devotional, Morning and Evening1 that "We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives." I think that applies here. I have also read in scripture that we are commanded to not be afraid, BECAUSE God is with us. He is our strength, our refuge. He is with us wherever we go.
2. Don't make decisions out of fear. This is something my husband and I have tried to put into practice in every aspect of our lives. Whether it comes to our money, our children's education or our emotions, we work very hard to seek the Lord and let the Holy Spirit guide us. I have found fear-based decisions rarely yield good long-term results.
3. Go ahead and play it out to the end. Beth Moore, an awesome Bible teacher and author gave this direction in one of her Bible Studies. She said if you are scared of something to go ahead and go through the what ifs. For example: What if my husband loses his job? We would have money for about a week. Then what? Well, we would clean out the pantry. Then what? We would start selling/pawning things to buy what we needed. Then what? You get my/her point. Play it out until you get to the end of the line. When all you have left is you, and all you can do is look up. When you look up you see that you aren't alone. Remember, God promises in His Word to never leave us.
4. Remember what fear is. F.E.A.R is Forgetting Everything's Already Resolved. God is sovereign. He holds the world and the future. He designed it, so He knows the beginning, the end and all that is in between. That same God loves us so much and wants us to rest in the fact that He has it all figured out. We don't have to fear because God already knows the ending. He is taking care of us. Yes we have to make godly, sound decisions. No, this is not a call to complacency. It's a comfort and a joy to know that we don't have to be afraid.
The particular fear I was having the other night is gone. I was able to let it go because I realized two things. One. Being fearful takes a lot of energy. Two.(This one I learned from my dad) If the God who made the universe can't keep safe, work out, etc. whatever we are fearing, what makes us think in our finite humaness, that we would be able to fix it by worrying and being scared.
1. Spurgeon, Charles. Revised by Begg, Allistair
Morning and Evening
Wheaten, Illinois
Crossway Books 2003
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