Who are you inviting in?

This past weekend I attended our MOPS leadership retreat. And it was an awesome time of getting to know some amazing women. It also made me really begin to analyze & think of how lucky I am to be a mom and how much my children mean to me.

I am going to admit something - I fail every day at being a mom and I fail at being a good wife.
I get too consumed with how my house looks, if it's clean enough, too much time on the computer, on the phone, cooking the best healthy & tasty meals, how many calories I've eaten that day and other mindless things. And what suffers are my husband and children.

I do not spend enough time snuggling on the couch, reading to them, coloring with them and other fun things. And soon enough they are going to be older & I will wish I had this time back. I am going to wish they would snuggle with me or let me read them a story.

And when Bill calls home, he is not greeted with a sweet "hi honey, how is your day" he is often greeted with "When are you coming home?".

In analyzing my life I found a common thread - who am I inviting into our home daily?

I also recognize that I am trying to do be the BEST mom/wife and I am trying to do it alone. And I cannot do it alone, I need Jesus to help me. I need him each and every day! I notice our day is so much smoother when I have had some quiet time with the Lord. He is in our home daily, but when I take the time to invite him, prepare the way for him to come, our day is so much better.

Lord, be with me as I surrender my home, husband and children over to you. Please help me to see them through your eyes. Help me to be the peacemaker you've called me to be. Help me to focus more on them & less on me & my needs. Let me put my kingdom & my needs/wants behind me and focus on what you would have me to focus on.

Happy Mothers Day!

Today is the day. The day all moms are honored for all their hard work & love. The day that celebrates us and if we are lucky (and I am) we get breakfast cooked for us and cards are waiting for you on the table. (mine were)

Today, is the day that I want to give a shout out to my mom. When you are a child you do not always see your mom for the real person she is. It wasn't till I became a mom that I really saw my mom for who she was. And she has been an amazing example of a mom.

A few thing's I've learned from my Mom and hope I can pass onto my children:

Stand up for what you believe in

Be generous

Be supportive

Love till it hurts and even if you get hurt, continue to love

Serve your community

Have fun

Laugh about the bad stuff, it helps you get through it

Pick your battles

Teach your children patience & you will in turn learn patience yourself

How to make birthdays really special

Root for the underdog because no one else is

How to make a sick kiddo feel better

Share your home, always make it available for others

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks only what the Lord thinks

How to make learning about the "birds & the bee's" & "womanly issues" a fun conversation & one your daughter remembers with a smile. (just ask me what my mom did )

My mom just flew home a week ago after spending 3.5wks with us. And it was the BEST visit I've had with my mom. We had such a good time together. Going to the park with the kids, the Zoo, cleaning my house, shopping, pedicures, watching Survivor together and lots of chatting. And finally she got to see one of her grandchildren come into this world. A gift she said was "priceless" and would never forget.

Thanks Mom for all you did while you were here. You spoiled us!!! But most importantly you gave yourself, which is what you always do, and it meant so much to me.

Happy Mothers Day!

I love you & miss you

"Mama" vs "Mommy"

When we got pregnant I decided I didn't want to be called "mommy" - I am not exactly sure why, but I just wanted to be different. There is nothing wrong with being called Mommy but I really liked "mama". You don't hear it much and I think it just sounds so cute when a kid calls their mom "mama".

So when Ellia was born I just always referred to myself as "Mama" and not "Mommy". When she started talking she picked it up pretty quickly. Although, she did the switch-a-roo thing and would call me both "Mama" and "Mommy". But ohh how it made my day when she'd say "Mama" And Yes, I admit it, when she did say "Mommy" I would correct her and say "Mama"

As she grew the "Mama" slipped away and she began using "Mommmmmmmy" more and more. And I'm not kidding when I say she would stretch out that word as far as she could when she was calling for me. Why is that kid's do that?

Pretty soon Addie came along and I thought, here's my chance to get her to call me "Mama" and maybe Ellia will start doing it again too. Addie is our stubborn child and isn't going to be persuaded to do anything she doesn't want to do. And that means calling me "Mama".

Addie is so sweet and lately has started saying "Hi Mommy", "Hi Daddy", "Hi YaYa" "Hi_______" It so sweet and it especially melts my heart when she comes down the stairs in the morning, in her pj's with bed head and says "Hi Mommy". Or when for no reason she looks up from her pile of toys and says "Hi Mommy".

In that instant how can I can be upset that she is saying "Mommy" instead of "Mama"? The answer is, I can't. It's the sweetest thing in the world and I will take hearing "Mommy" any day.

What do your kids call you? Did you want them to call you something different?

Guess what? I still have Micah to work with on the "Mama" thing ;o)

What a Good Mother Does…

I found this on Facebook on my friends page. I liked it so much I am posting it today. Enjoy!

A good mother…

…serves her child water from bpa free cups
…never lets her child drink from plastic
…goes for the Barney set on sale

…speaks gently and does not interfere much
…keeps a close eye and quickly intervenes
…lashes out in anger and regrets her actions

…lives in the moby
…buckles them up in a bouncy seat
…holds them in her arms

…yells too loud
…guides too soft
…crys too often

…makes the world their child’s classroom
…volunteers in the public school classroom
…scrimps to send them to a private school classroom

…eats oreos for breakfast
…lets her children eat oreos for breakfast
…hasn’t touched a brownie in years

…cloth diapers, cloth napkins, cloth pads and cloth toilet papers
…uses paper towels and composts her leftovers
…should be investing in the Ziploc company

…rocks her child to sleep
…says prayers and stories with her child in bed
…snuggles, hugs and kisses goodnight, then lets her child cry it out

…sleeps with her husband only
…sleeps with her husband and children
…doesn’t sleep much at all

…hikes, camps and nature walks with her kids
…teaches her children how to poop in the woods
…doesn’t go off the blacktop path

…gives her child formula from birth
…breastfeeds her 4 yr old
…pumps in the bathroom at work

…can squeeze a penny out of a nickle
…splurges on herself
…hasn’t bought a non-necessity in years

…home cooks
…micro waves
…drives through

…showers, makeup and dressed every day by 8
…wears heels to work
…is in pajamas well past noon

…cries over mommy fears
…worries over decisions
…fights for their future

…has a lot of money
…has no money
…takes good care of the money she’s got

…goes to church
…doesn’t go to church
…feels guilty for not going to church

…makes dollhouses from pixie sticks
…bakes chocolate chip cookies
…drinks mocha frappachinos

…is sometimes too rough with her kids
…is sometimes unavailable to her kids
…is sometimes locked in the bathroom with a pint of ben and jerry’s

…has laundry piled on the living room floor
…vacuums the living room floor
…wrestles with her kids on the floor

…wishes she was thinner
…wishes she was smarter
…wishes for a maid

…takes time for herself
…runs herself ragged
…runs a 5K

…reads with her children
…reads to herself
…is illiterate

…watches oprah
…watches ellen
…watches dora

…buys only wooden toys
…scores garage sales finds and hand-me-downs
…buys the latest and greatest gizmos

…loses her temper
…loses her keys
…loses her friends

…loves with all she’s got
…loves when it’s hard and hurts
…loves until everything that doesn’t matter fades away

A Mother's Love

Mother's Day is coming quickly. This week I am going to try to do a post every day on what it means to be a Mother, a tribute to my own mother, and any other little tidbits I feel like sharing, as it is my blog.

I just like everyone was birthed into this wide open world by a Mother. And, I was lucky enough to be raised by both a wonderful Mother & Father. But in terms of this post we will just talk about Mother's. We'll save the Father post for later.

And my Mother like her mother before her and before her did the BEST job she could. She kissed me, fed me, changed my diaper & pretty much gave me everything I could ask for within reason. Growing up I never really quite understood this Mother bond thing. I knew I loved my mom and that we had a different relationship than my dad and I. But I never really got it, that is until I had a child, a daughter.

The moment I found out I was pregnant the first time I was in complete shock. Shock that it was finally happening to me and that Bill and I had created a little life. A little life that was growing daily in my tummy. And mothering that baby started from that very moment the test read " +" I began talking to my tummy, rubbing it, drinking less caffeine and protecting my little peanut. I dreamed of what he/she would look like, what they would do when they grew up & planning all the things we'd do as a family. My life was changed forever when that test read " + ".

The afternoon Ellia was born I realized the depth of the Lord's love for me. In the instant that Ellia was placed on my chest all bloody & messy I felt a warmth come over my entire body. And in that moment I realized that I was being flooded with love for her.

A love that cannot be shaken or moved. A love that surpassed all that I had known before. And later when I was re-counting that moment I realized that is how the Lord feels about us. He loves us so much and gave up so much for us.

"nor height nor depth, nor any other created

thing, shall be able to separate

us from the love of the God which is in

Christ Jesus our Lord"

Being a Mother has it challenges, highs, lows and many joys. But most importantly it is filled with lots of Love. My day is full of washing little hands, feeding hungry tummies and housework. However, mixed in are lots of hugs & kisses. And these help make any bad day better.

When one of my kids wraps their chubby little arms around my neck or gives me a slobbery kiss everything fades away. Suddenly, I am reminded that being a Mom is the BEST thing in the world and I wouldn't trade it for anything.