Mommy life

 Two kids under two is nothing to shake a stick at. They just sit and shake sticks at me and attack me. True story.

Remember Julia Sweeney, who played Pat on SNL? I still love to do impersonations of her/him! Julia, not Pat, wrote a book on a collection of essays on Motherhood. Hello, I can relate.  

"I want to be alone. I really need to be alone. 

I took so long to assemble my lovely family... I went after creating family like a golden retriever running after a ball --how much does a the dog think about what he's doing? He doesn't think. He does. He is a doer. That's me too. I did it. I do it. I am doing it. 

Every morning I get up and hustle. I'm sure this is true for most mothers. It's true for me too. This is what I wanted, after all.  This was my dream. I'm always on task. I never go up the stairs of our house without looking around for what needs to be taken up. I never buy just one meal's worth of food at the grocery store. I drive carpools. I volunteer at the school cafeteria. I wait patiently outside the dance classes. I iron. I clean up the cat vomit. Make dinner. Walk the dog. I work at home and then really work, at home. I quell the rising ire in my roommates. I try to install harmony, efficiency, and a calm, enabling environment for my fellow family members. I often set the table two hours before dinner. I live by lists. I pick up things in our house and put them where they go. Chiefly, I'm the protector against chaos that threatens us. I am a good soldier.

I love my job.

Secretly I hate my job.

I love my family. 

If only they would disappear."

Okay... I don't want my family to disappear  And careful what you wish for. The last time I wished for a break, I ended up on hospital bed rest for two weeks. That really was a true story. I said, Dear God I need a break!! And that night, my water broke. 

Seriously though, I love my boys. Very much. Here are all the pictures to prove it.

Farrah Fawcett called and she wants her hair back. Along with every player in the NHL.

Blue Man Group called and they want you to audition.

Bunny Butt

Impossible to get one good pic of Everett, because he is chowing on Jelly Beans.

Cutest baby EVER!!! Deacon is our premium preemie! 

3 Months!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Etsy Love

I have a little problem and it's called Etsy. I love it too much! All the beautiful art just calling my name! 

Since we moved into the new house, I have purchased a few things for our home. 

I think I love Etsy so much because it's regular ol' people just creating fun and beautiful things. They aren't mass produced and I love supporting small businesses. I even opened up an Etsy store, but I have yet to sell anything. Someday... when my life isn't filled with a newborn and a crazy energetic toddler. 

So here are a few things I've ordered recently...

ANCHORandVINE

My husband is a HUGE Mumford & Sons fan. I of course like them too, but he is just crazy for them. I got this print in the 8x10 and in blue. It's a great quote!

HelloLittleFox

Everything in this shop is cuuute!!! It was hard to just buy one thing, but this one I thought was the sweetest. It's so perfect for our new home that we love so much.

Katie Daisy

I love Katie Daisy's work! It's so pretty and happy and whimsical. I like this print because it reminds me of my wedding. We had all sorts of lovely farmer's market flowers in Mason Jars all over the wedding and reception site.


Those are just a few of my favorite things right now from Etsy. But believe me, I have my eye on about 50 other things!!!

Mom, Women of Faith 3-9

Welcome back to "Mom: Woman of Faith".  Each Saturday a group of moms respond to a question essential to our lives as Christians and Mothers.  It is our hope that this series will spark reflection and growth for all those involved.  Please feel free to add your thoughts here or on facebook.  Thanks for being here, and for sharing in our journey as Christians and mothers.  We are always looking for more contributors!  Email nancy if interested.

This week's Question:

What is your biggest challenge as a mother? How do you deal with it?

Nancy

Small Things

I actually find the vocation of motherhood to be totally unchallenging...  Ok.  That's a lie.

Without a doubt, entering motherhood has been the most challenging (and ultimately fruitful) transformations of my life.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom, but there are still parts of motherhood that challenge me to the core.  Since I was nearly 30 before I became a mother, I am most challenged by how motherhood demands such deep self sacrifice.

I would like to think that sacrificing for my children would be easy--and it is sometimes.  I don't mind getting up at night or missing a social event because they are ill.  But, it when I have to sacrifice parts of my identity or when I am reminded that my life is no longer my own that I am really challenged. 

When I became a mother I was lucky enough to quit working and stay home.  I love being home with my kids, but I didn't realize how much of my identity was wrapped up in my occupation.  I also didn't realize how selfish I was.  Even with prayer, I was selfish.  I wanted to pray in this way at this time and I wanted it to be silent.  The challenge comes in not only giving freely of myself for my children, but also at the same time taking care of myself.  I still needed an identity and I certainly still need a prayer life!

The only "solution" I have come up with for this challenge is to bring it to the Lord.  When I am feeling lost or emptied I am in a perfect place to humbly approach the Lord.  I strive to make the little moments of motherhood my time for prayer--cooking, cleaning, nursing, rocking.

Melody

Blossoming Joy

I thought this would be an easy question to answer because I had an answer in mind immediately. Then, over time, I realized that I actually had a different answer every single day. I finally sat down at the 11th hour to get at the root… and once again, found the answer relatively easy.

My biggest challenge as a mother is my own weakness. My own limitations. My failures. Period. I wake in the morning and in they rush before my feet have hit the floor. I struggle through my morning prayers, trip over the shoes I left in the middle of the floor, and head off to change the sheets of the little one I forgot to take to the bathroom before bed. I go to bed at night with my failures playing like a permanently unfinished to-do list on a mental film reel.

I could list some big challenges outside of myself. Like teenage eye-rolling, household management, discipline, meal planning, sibling relationships… but what it really comes down to is whether or not I have the humility to fail and fail and fail again at managing those little and big things, and then get up again out of love for God and family.

When I fail to trust the in the Lord’s abundant grace and mercy, I tend to wallow in the muck and mire of the frayed details. In those rare moments when I have my heart in the right place, my head follows… and I see God standing in the gap, gazing at me and my failures with patience and affection. He is Mercy. And I rest in that confidence every moment of my motherhood.

Nell
Whole Family Parenting

My biggest challenge as a mother is to be at peace with the loss of control that inevitably comes with welcoming dependent children into your life.  I’m not a type-A control freak or anything, but I do historically like to call the shots in life, to have my time be my own to squander or to spend wisely.  Mothering provides me with the opportunity (being positive here!) to embrace the chaos and take one day at a time.

My husband and I have a 2 year-7month old boy and an 11 month old girl. They’re so sweet, loving, and generally very delighted with life.  But when the house is filthy—like literally needs to be scrubbed top to bottom, I have no plans for dinner beyond breakfast food, the baby is teething and needs to be held, the big boy is whining and needs to be held, I haven’t showered in a few days or more, and my day is consumed with everyone else’s needs but my own—I feel pressed beyond my limits!  I want to crawl into the laundry basket with a bar of my favorite locally made chocolate with my IPhone and surf the web and social media!  In lieu of doing that (too much laundry in the basket!), I call any one of my sisters to complain.  

The better way to handle this challenge would be to capitulate to the dirty house, intense and somehow simultaneous physical needs of children, and breakfast food for dinner.  Change my attitude and embrace that this is where I am in life: a shadow of my former all-under-control lawyerly self, but a much more complete person!  Shower when the kids are asleep and try again the next day to have a better approach to the mundane daily tasks of housekeeping and cooking.  Plan ahead better.  Get out of my PJs/yoga pants and approach the day like a complex case: one in need of preparation and mental fortitude.  Pick a priority, be it cleaning the bathrooms or kneading the bread dough, and tackle it during nap time.  And know that this time will pass so quickly and my challenges will only grow as my children do.  Small children, small problems—big children, well, you can guess it!

Sabrina

Superfluous

I would say there are many challenge I face as a mother. Finding time for myself, balancing being a wife, mom, and homemaker. There is only so much time in the day and I want to be there for my kids and my husband and keep the house clean. I often feel overwhelmed at all the tasks I need to do. Recently I downloaded a daily & weekly "chore" chart and meal planning pages to put into a folder. It helps me keep track of things I need to do during the day & week and have meals planned ahead of time. I went to Motivatedmoms.com and downloaded an Ebook there, but you can also go on Pinterest for awesome menu planning and daily to-do Printables.

With my folder and my lists, I'm not coming to the end of my day and wishing I would have done more, when I already did the things I needed to do for that day. Finding some time to myself really helps me to. My husband is really great about watching the kids in the evening and on weekends, so if I need to run out to Target or a thrift store to get my mommy alone time, he is there to watch the kiddos.  I also try to find time to get together with friends without the kids. Even just grabbing a cup of coffee or getting a bite to eat is refreshing. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I feel so much better.  Being a mom is definitely a balancing act, and it's very rewarding and it's also very tiring too. But I'm working on finding the right balance that works well for our family, and my sanity.

 

And now it's your turn.  Tell us your thoughts, or comment on what we've shared. 

For next week's question click here.

2 Months!

Mom, Woman of Faith 2-16

Welcome back to "Mom: Woman of Faith".  Each Saturday a group of moms respond to a question essential to our lives as Christians and Mothers.  It is our hope that this series will spark reflection and growth for all those involved.  Please feel free to add your thoughts here or on facebook.

This week's Question:

What does it mean to be a Christian Wife?

Nancy

Small Things

Simply put, being a Christian wife means partnering in the work toward achieving a Christian Marriage and Christian Family.  My husband and I took having Christ as a part of our relationship very seriously, even when we were first dating.  We strove for purity in the early part of our relationship and now that we are married we are committed to fidelity and true vulnerability with each other, things we can only achieve through Christ.  Although not perfect we pray together every night and are working to instill the faith in our young children.  It is our constant goal to keep Christ as the third person in our marriage.

Honestly, I don't understand how marriage works without Christ--or how someone who is not Christian could be a wife.  Marriage is hard work!  Not matter how cute, or funny, or sensitive or charming my husband is, being a Christian wife still require a major death to self.  I no longer live just for myself.  On our wedding day my husband and I became one, and I must always keep that in mind when I made decisions, big and small.

Finally, being a Christian wife means surrendering.  I surrender to not only the will of my husband (because I know this is the correct order, and I know that he will act out of love), but I also surrender to the Lord.  I really struggle relinquishing control, but I know that I will only find joy if I submit to the will of my husband, and the will of the Lord, who both love me more than I can understand.

Elizabeth

Yes, They're All Ours

A Christian wife is a woman who takes seriously her role to be a Help Meet to her husband.  Rather than attempting to control or compete with her husband, a Christian wife will seek to compliment and complete her husband, realizing that they are more valuable as a team!

If a woman wants to know what a Christian wife looks like, she should flip to the heart of her Bible and settle in with Proverbs 31:10-31, that infamous passage depicting the virtuous wife. This glimpse into her life gives a timeless picture of what it means to be a Christian wife.

First of all, because of her faithfulness to her husband and all her responsibilities, we learn that the heart of her husband safely trusts in her, and that she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Because her husband is confident of her ability to manage his household well, he is free to concentrate on his calling, and thus he is “known in the gates,” which means he is a leader in the community. I love the fact that she is not competing with him “in the gates,” but is content to concentrate her creative energies in the home.

She is a diligent worker, which is evidenced by the fact that she works willingly with her hands, rises early to provide food for her household, and looks well to the ways of her household, rather than wasting time in idleness or filling her life with vain pursuits.
She plans ahead and prepares for the future.  She is resourceful and frugal, shopping around for the best deals, and she invests her savings wisely. She uses some of her skills to pursue a home business. 

Even though she is focused on the needs of her husband and her family, she is not blind to the needs outside of her home, which is evidenced by the fact that she is generous and compassionate and reaches out to the poor and needy.
Even though she makes beautiful clothes for herself and is well-dressed (in “silk and purple”), her beauty is not based on her outward appearance or charm, but stems from the inner beauty of a woman who fears the Lord. Therefore, she grows more beautiful with the passing of time, and her husband and children rise up and bless her and her own works praise her in the gates!

Sabrina

Superfluous

For me, being a Christian wife means so many things. It's about loving my husband, respecting him, taking care of him, helping him make decisions, and praying for him daily. Like the Proverbs 31 woman, I too want to bring good to my husband everyday. My husband and I work as a team. Together we make mutual decisions about running our household and raising our children. But I respect him when we have different opinions and love him despite our differences. Ultimately, I want to be a wife that cherishes & loves my husband, like Christ loves us. 

Barb

Family Soul Story

Being a Christian wife has been my goal for the last 34 ½ years, but I have a long way to go on this journey of LIFE and LOVE.  There are good days and not so good days, but always days in which I can grow more loving and giving to my husband.  My husband is the head of our house – just as Jesus is the head of his Church.  There have been times in our marriage that he has given me strong direction, it turns out to be the right thing for me.  With 3 of my daughters now married  - I am learning some lessons on love and obedience from them.  My oldest shares that all communication with your spouse should be life-giving, and that is something that I really need to work on.  All 3 daughters are very selfless when it comes to serving their husbands and children.  I know that humility is so important for a Christian wife to make the best of her marriage!  Even my daughter, Little Sister Hallel, who is a religious nun, has shared some beautiful insights with her sisters that are married – reminding us that our spouses are to be our Most Cherished Cross.  Telling us that we are called to embrace our Cross, and not run away from it because it hurts.  Through embracing our spouse/Most Cherished Cross we allow LIFE and LOVE to enter our domestic church/family, and find true and lasting happiness!  I am, with the help of my daughters, striving to be a better Christian wife…it is a never ending journey, and only possible with Christ at my side!

And now it's your turn.  Tell us your thoughts, or comment on what we've shared. 

For next week's question click here.

Be Mine

Happy Valentine's Day!!