As my husband left to run the dog my oldest was getting ready to get into bed. Dad ran up the stairs and my 6 year old yelled up at him... "good night Dad! You've been a good dad today!" Needless to say we cracked up laughing, even though our son was being serious.
Oh...what smiles we would bring to others if we so freely yelled out the obvious good things happening around us. The honesty of a child can be a bit scary at times (hee-hee) or so ever complimenting. So go ahead... start your week yelling out the great things happening around you and be sure those doing it know it!! Happy Memorial Day and enjoy your week!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Song for My Sons
You might be able tell based on my posting of song lyrics, but I love words put to music. This is on my ipod and has been playing frequently lately. Read the words, so much truth from a mother's heart to her sons. Ditto, Sarah. Thank you for creating this song...
Song for My Sons by Sarah Groves
This is a song for my sons for when they understand it
You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it
your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding
for things we couldn't see or comprehend
This is a song for you, to carry in your pocket
take all our love with you in all the paths you walk in
I can't say your life will always go like it should
but I can say that God is always good
and when the cold wind blows like I know it will
and when you feel alone like I know you will
and when the cold wind blows like we know it will
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow cold
This is a song for my sons for when they understand it
You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it
your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding
for things we couldn't see or comprehend
This is a song from my heart a small refrain to hold you
for times when we're apart and I cannot console you
Be honest with yourself and don't forget to pray
and read your bible everyday
and when the cold wind blows like I know it will
and when you feel alone like I know you will
and when the cold wind blows like I know it will
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow cold
Song for My Sons by Sarah Groves
This is a song for my sons for when they understand it
You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it
your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding
for things we couldn't see or comprehend
This is a song for you, to carry in your pocket
take all our love with you in all the paths you walk in
I can't say your life will always go like it should
but I can say that God is always good
and when the cold wind blows like I know it will
and when you feel alone like I know you will
and when the cold wind blows like we know it will
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow cold
This is a song for my sons for when they understand it
You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it
your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding
for things we couldn't see or comprehend
This is a song from my heart a small refrain to hold you
for times when we're apart and I cannot console you
Be honest with yourself and don't forget to pray
and read your bible everyday
and when the cold wind blows like I know it will
and when you feel alone like I know you will
and when the cold wind blows like I know it will
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow
Don't let your love grow cold
Friday, May 14, 2010
do-overs anyone?
Last night I went to bed feeling like I could've done better. Much better. I'm not sure when it hit me yesterday, but I suddenly got this overwhelming feeling that my house was total chaos and out of control. Water had leaked into our basement and I found myself cleaning like a mad woman on my hands and knees. Then I started to notice "everything else". Toys are scattered everywhere, mostly from my 2 year old who simply likes to dump any box or basket he can find in his path. Windows need washed again even though I just did it 2 weeks ago. Laundry needs done, as always. The floors need a good scrubbing, bathtubs need washed, and drawers need sorted through for summer clothes to have room. My garage needs a good hour or two spent in it to just sort yard toys and rid of old ones that serve little purpose anymore. Not to mention my storage area that is getting smaller and smaller due to the pile up of "stuff". Dinner dishes still needed done and my kids were bugging me to read another book. I haven't even mentioned my dang dog. For some reason she feels the need to pee every time a person walks through our front door...or any door for that matter! I have cleaned dog pee up from my new couch, 2 carpet areas, my favorite snuggle blanket, and under the dining room table in the last 24 hours!!! While I am at it I might as well tell you I also have cleaned the sheets on both boy's beds from the night before from them peeing through them!! Crimeny! Can I get a break!?!? There... I ranted every little thing piling up on my brain up to this point from the last 24 hours.
You know what? I went to bed last night feeling like I could have done so much better. I spent a lot of my day panicked about getting caught up in my house and cursing a little bit under my breath at my stupid dog. I live in a home with 2 young kids and I should hope that things are piling up the way I feel they are. It means books are being read, games are being played, bikes are being ridden, cookies are being baked, and family meals are being cooked. Not to mention we have enough stuff to wear something different everyday of the week...heck, maybe even everyday of the next 3 weeks! We have toys to challenge our imagination and cozy beds to take long naps in. We are comfortable, healthy, and happy (at least when we are not freaking out about house cleaning! :-). I woke up this morning thankful for a do-over day. Most days I handle the clutter in my home gracefully, but every so often the perfectionist organizer clean freak seeps out of me and I become a little cloudy about my priorities and blessings. I also become a bit crazy (so ask my husband)!!
I hate that I let such things pile up on my heart and I react so poorly to the things that really matter. If I could do-over yesterday I would have sat and read for an hour with my kids. I would have maybe used paper plates for dinner and just gone for a bike ride with the fam after we ate, instead of hiding down in my basement sorting and folding laundry while let the floors dry from a scrubbing before dinner. I would have sat by the bath tub while the kids bathed like I usually do and squirt them with water or sing or play cars, instead of using the time to quick pick up the toys on their bedroom floors. I would have sat down with my husband and watched our favorite TV show, instead of cleaning up the toy room after the kids went to bed. I would have even let the dog out of the kennel and let her fall asleep by me.
I am thankful for today. I am thankful God gives us do-overs each day. I hated the way I felt going to bed last night, but I am hopeful I can get my heart and head in the right place today. Do-overs are good. Thank goodness I woke up today to try again. Time to go... my poor dog wants out of his kennel and I want to bake some goodies for snack today!
You know what? I went to bed last night feeling like I could have done so much better. I spent a lot of my day panicked about getting caught up in my house and cursing a little bit under my breath at my stupid dog. I live in a home with 2 young kids and I should hope that things are piling up the way I feel they are. It means books are being read, games are being played, bikes are being ridden, cookies are being baked, and family meals are being cooked. Not to mention we have enough stuff to wear something different everyday of the week...heck, maybe even everyday of the next 3 weeks! We have toys to challenge our imagination and cozy beds to take long naps in. We are comfortable, healthy, and happy (at least when we are not freaking out about house cleaning! :-). I woke up this morning thankful for a do-over day. Most days I handle the clutter in my home gracefully, but every so often the perfectionist organizer clean freak seeps out of me and I become a little cloudy about my priorities and blessings. I also become a bit crazy (so ask my husband)!!
I hate that I let such things pile up on my heart and I react so poorly to the things that really matter. If I could do-over yesterday I would have sat and read for an hour with my kids. I would have maybe used paper plates for dinner and just gone for a bike ride with the fam after we ate, instead of hiding down in my basement sorting and folding laundry while let the floors dry from a scrubbing before dinner. I would have sat by the bath tub while the kids bathed like I usually do and squirt them with water or sing or play cars, instead of using the time to quick pick up the toys on their bedroom floors. I would have sat down with my husband and watched our favorite TV show, instead of cleaning up the toy room after the kids went to bed. I would have even let the dog out of the kennel and let her fall asleep by me.
I am thankful for today. I am thankful God gives us do-overs each day. I hated the way I felt going to bed last night, but I am hopeful I can get my heart and head in the right place today. Do-overs are good. Thank goodness I woke up today to try again. Time to go... my poor dog wants out of his kennel and I want to bake some goodies for snack today!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
rainy days
It has been raining for like 5 days here. Seriously, already! Can we see the sun? While my kids are itching to get back outside, I must say I have been productive being stuck indoors. I have finally made some time to do some spring cleaning, catch up on laundry (yup, still haven't mastered that chore even with my new handy shelving unit, dang-it!), and pay a little more attention to my daily to-do list's. I get so distracted when I am outside. I love the outdoors and just get lost in being out there having fun with my kids. Best thing about rainy days... cozying up with books, good flavored coffee, music playing softly all day, napping, and ...checking things off the to-do list! OKay, even without the sun it has been a good few days indoors :)
Happy rainy day to you... at least from where I am sitting. What do you like to do on a rainy day?
Happy rainy day to you... at least from where I am sitting. What do you like to do on a rainy day?
Monday, May 10, 2010
It's Mother's Day! (or it was)
Okay, when I started this post it WAS actually Mother's Day. Then I had to relabel it "It's Mother's Day (In Mexico)" and now it is 2 days past and here I am finally finishing this post. Two days late. Oh well. Life has been....well, life of course. ... where do the days go? I just don't know. So, a couple days late... but here is my post that I had very good intentions of having out on the actual Mother's Day celebrated in America :) Just my ramblings as I process what motherhood is about to me today...
Mother's Day... a precious day for many and for some a struggle to get through without a tear or two shed. Today I want to celebrate all the mother's in our world. I see a strong resemblance between the leaders of today and the mother's that helped get them there. I also see a strong resemblance between the well intentional mothers and the children that are making a difference in our world, big and small. Not only are children being effected, but families are being shaped by the "hand that rocks the cradle" too. I truly believe that families shape our culture and that you can see what our culture is about if you look inside our families. Therefor, mother's have a serious job ahead of them as they help lead our families towards ways of God and not of this world. To complete such a task can not be done alone usually and often times requires a village of people. The old saying "it takes a village to raise a child" is no less about the children then it is about the parents too.
Today is a day to be proud to be given the role as mother and humble to be given such a gift. It is a day to thank and love our own mother's or women who have been like mother's to us. It is a day to encourage and love the mom's in our lives. So many great mom's I know play their mother position surrounded by a team of involved players in the parenting game. Like Jesus surrounded himself with 12 disciples to walk through earthly life with, mother's too need a sound team by their side as they play along in the game of motherhood. If there is ever a time to check your pride at the door, it is now.
My team of players has been huge in shaping me as a mother. Between my husband, a handful of close friends, a couple life mentors, my grandmother, my own mother, and my sister in laws I have a bench full of people willing to walk me through each play. I think too often I try to do this life alone and over and over again I am reminded how little I can do without the love, support, grace, and encouragement of those key people surrounding me. I am challenged in so many ways to grow spiritually, physically, and emotionally which in the end always results in me being a better mother. My team of players helps me stay focused on the big picture... not the daily grind stuff that can become mundane and start to seem unimportant, but the importance of each moment and the way I live it to help me get to the goal at the end of motherhood. Don't we all wish for our children to grow up and be healthy, happy, selfless, loving, grace filled, and Jesus serving adults that are making an impact on our community and world? To get them there is a BIG job...one filled with guidance from our Savior, intentional parents, and a village of people who want the same for our children.
I guess today on Mother's Day I want to thank the amazing people in my life who make me a better mom. I want to encourage you to seek out your team of players if you don't have one. Pay attention to who and what you surround yourself with. Like Jesus choose his disciples wisely, choose your team wisely too. After all they are helping bring up your children! Look around and see who you could cheer on as they walk through motherhood. Learn from one another and celebrate the blessing of motherhood. Having so many beautiful people in my life make Mother's Day all that more special. I hope your day has been filled with good things, good people, and good laughs! As you fulfill your purpose in motherhood just know this is a time in your life to share... share your life with those around you and don't be afraid to let a few in yours too. Happy Mother's Day to all of you!!!
Mother's Day... a precious day for many and for some a struggle to get through without a tear or two shed. Today I want to celebrate all the mother's in our world. I see a strong resemblance between the leaders of today and the mother's that helped get them there. I also see a strong resemblance between the well intentional mothers and the children that are making a difference in our world, big and small. Not only are children being effected, but families are being shaped by the "hand that rocks the cradle" too. I truly believe that families shape our culture and that you can see what our culture is about if you look inside our families. Therefor, mother's have a serious job ahead of them as they help lead our families towards ways of God and not of this world. To complete such a task can not be done alone usually and often times requires a village of people. The old saying "it takes a village to raise a child" is no less about the children then it is about the parents too.
Today is a day to be proud to be given the role as mother and humble to be given such a gift. It is a day to thank and love our own mother's or women who have been like mother's to us. It is a day to encourage and love the mom's in our lives. So many great mom's I know play their mother position surrounded by a team of involved players in the parenting game. Like Jesus surrounded himself with 12 disciples to walk through earthly life with, mother's too need a sound team by their side as they play along in the game of motherhood. If there is ever a time to check your pride at the door, it is now.
My team of players has been huge in shaping me as a mother. Between my husband, a handful of close friends, a couple life mentors, my grandmother, my own mother, and my sister in laws I have a bench full of people willing to walk me through each play. I think too often I try to do this life alone and over and over again I am reminded how little I can do without the love, support, grace, and encouragement of those key people surrounding me. I am challenged in so many ways to grow spiritually, physically, and emotionally which in the end always results in me being a better mother. My team of players helps me stay focused on the big picture... not the daily grind stuff that can become mundane and start to seem unimportant, but the importance of each moment and the way I live it to help me get to the goal at the end of motherhood. Don't we all wish for our children to grow up and be healthy, happy, selfless, loving, grace filled, and Jesus serving adults that are making an impact on our community and world? To get them there is a BIG job...one filled with guidance from our Savior, intentional parents, and a village of people who want the same for our children.
I guess today on Mother's Day I want to thank the amazing people in my life who make me a better mom. I want to encourage you to seek out your team of players if you don't have one. Pay attention to who and what you surround yourself with. Like Jesus choose his disciples wisely, choose your team wisely too. After all they are helping bring up your children! Look around and see who you could cheer on as they walk through motherhood. Learn from one another and celebrate the blessing of motherhood. Having so many beautiful people in my life make Mother's Day all that more special. I hope your day has been filled with good things, good people, and good laughs! As you fulfill your purpose in motherhood just know this is a time in your life to share... share your life with those around you and don't be afraid to let a few in yours too. Happy Mother's Day to all of you!!!
Friday, May 7, 2010
some favorite words
I love reading little quotes. Here are a few of my favorite about mother's... something to think about on this eve to the weekend! Happy Mother's Day weekend to you all!!
"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."
Lin Yutang
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother."
Albert Einstein
"A mother is she who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take."
Cardinal Mermillod
"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."
Theodore Hesburgh
The bearing and the training of a child is a woman's wisdom.-Lord Tennyson
"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."
William Ross Wallace
"It is better to build strong children, than repair broken men."
Frederick Douglas
"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."
Lin Yutang
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother."
Albert Einstein
"A mother is she who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take."
Cardinal Mermillod
"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."
Theodore Hesburgh
The bearing and the training of a child is a woman's wisdom.-Lord Tennyson
"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."
William Ross Wallace
"It is better to build strong children, than repair broken men."
Frederick Douglas
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
are you building walls or bridges?
My heart always opens a little bit to each mom I cross a path with. I don't know why for sure, but I am attracted to mom's. (and NO, not in a weird way!!) May be why I wanted to start this blog? Stay home mom's, working mom's, single mom's, poorest of poor mom's, step-mom's, old mom's, young mom's, want-to-be mom's. All of them. When I meet someone and they tell me they are a mom, my defense mechanism to not show too much of myself to them goes down and I instantly have my heart opened to them. I like to connect to people in this world and when I meet a mom I always find that common ground with them. I think it has a lot to do with the reality that they play such a huge role in our culture, our communities, our families, and our world. I know the pull and stretch that mom's go through daily to carry out their God given task as mothering. It is no easy trip, but well worth the extra driving it takes to do it!
As I write today I can not ignore the wall that stands between so many mom's. So often mom's are forced to decide... what kind of mom do I WANT to be? Do I HAVE to be? Do I NEED to be? This is not a bad choice and one that needs to be made. However, I think many mom's carry with them the baggage of not feeling like a real mom or a good enough mom if they don't do A,B, and C. I feel like as I talk with mom's that so often they would have made different choices if they didn't feel the pressure of the A, B, and C's in their life. A, B, and C is different to each mom too. For some it is "if I don't stay home, cook all organic meals & snacks, and breastfeed until my kids are 2 then I'm not 'mom enough" For others it is... "if I don't juggle a full time career, climb the corporate ladder, and have a hot dinner on the table by 6 every night then I am not a real mom." For some it is... "if I don't find a way to feed my kids other then with food stamps, buy my own home, and quit accepting government housing then I'm not good enough to be a mom."
All mom's have something that weighs over them while they live out the choices they made in the mothering department. If there was ever a place to build bridges with people it is with our fellow mother's. We will each do things differently. We will each choose differently. Nobody truly knows the situation, circumstances, or heart of the other mom's we are often times looking at. Instead of putting up walls and looking down on those doing life different then you in the mom department, let's build bridges. Building bridges empowers us to be better ourselves. Building bridges makes our children stronger too. Building bridges may even let you (and me) really look at what God wants us to do as mother's and not what we think we are supposed to do according to the pressures we feel from different areas in our life. When we are living the life that God desires for us I believe we find contentment, peace, and joy. When we can choose the way we want to mother our children through God's desires for us individually and not our world's standards, I believe we can start to be better bridge builders and better mom's.
As Mother's Day approaches I hope we can celebrate every type of mom... Stay home mom's, working mom's, single mom's, poorest of poor mom's, step-mom's, old mom's, young mom's, want-to-be mom's. Yup, all of them. We have a big job ladies. Let's tear down walls and cheer on one another. Start your bridge building this week as we get ready to honor all mom's in this world on Mother's Day!
As I write today I can not ignore the wall that stands between so many mom's. So often mom's are forced to decide... what kind of mom do I WANT to be? Do I HAVE to be? Do I NEED to be? This is not a bad choice and one that needs to be made. However, I think many mom's carry with them the baggage of not feeling like a real mom or a good enough mom if they don't do A,B, and C. I feel like as I talk with mom's that so often they would have made different choices if they didn't feel the pressure of the A, B, and C's in their life. A, B, and C is different to each mom too. For some it is "if I don't stay home, cook all organic meals & snacks, and breastfeed until my kids are 2 then I'm not 'mom enough" For others it is... "if I don't juggle a full time career, climb the corporate ladder, and have a hot dinner on the table by 6 every night then I am not a real mom." For some it is... "if I don't find a way to feed my kids other then with food stamps, buy my own home, and quit accepting government housing then I'm not good enough to be a mom."
All mom's have something that weighs over them while they live out the choices they made in the mothering department. If there was ever a place to build bridges with people it is with our fellow mother's. We will each do things differently. We will each choose differently. Nobody truly knows the situation, circumstances, or heart of the other mom's we are often times looking at. Instead of putting up walls and looking down on those doing life different then you in the mom department, let's build bridges. Building bridges empowers us to be better ourselves. Building bridges makes our children stronger too. Building bridges may even let you (and me) really look at what God wants us to do as mother's and not what we think we are supposed to do according to the pressures we feel from different areas in our life. When we are living the life that God desires for us I believe we find contentment, peace, and joy. When we can choose the way we want to mother our children through God's desires for us individually and not our world's standards, I believe we can start to be better bridge builders and better mom's.
As Mother's Day approaches I hope we can celebrate every type of mom... Stay home mom's, working mom's, single mom's, poorest of poor mom's, step-mom's, old mom's, young mom's, want-to-be mom's. Yup, all of them. We have a big job ladies. Let's tear down walls and cheer on one another. Start your bridge building this week as we get ready to honor all mom's in this world on Mother's Day!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Let me Rephrase...Best Mother's Day...
After reading what I wrote earlier I realized it read like I was looking for actual Mother's Day memories... the day itself. I am hoping to hear from some of you about the mom's and women in your life who have been like mom's to you or women whom you have learned so much from. What is it they have given you from a mother's role? What is it you love about being a mom yourself?
So, I apologize if that was misleading! Now let's try this again...
Mother's Day is around the corner! I am looking for some of the best Mother's Day stories... a fond memory with your own mother, one with your own children, or one with a woman in your life who has been a mother figure to you. What is it about them you adore? What is it about motherhood that you love so much? I hope to post more this week on mother's and their special role in this world.
So, I apologize if that was misleading! Now let's try this again...
Mother's Day is around the corner! I am looking for some of the best Mother's Day stories... a fond memory with your own mother, one with your own children, or one with a woman in your life who has been a mother figure to you. What is it about them you adore? What is it about motherhood that you love so much? I hope to post more this week on mother's and their special role in this world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)