One of those weeks .....AND weekends

Hmmm you can probably guess already my week has been a little crazy! It's just simply been, one of those weeks! And it carried it's crazy self right into the weekend!

It's been one thing after another. Starting off Monday it was a prettty normal and typical week. Then as the days went one...things kept starting to get a little more stressful. I was hoping for a little relaxation this weekend but come Saturday, Elijah got sick and he's been on my hip in the sling ever since. He is such a good natured baby, he really is. Even when he is sick, bless his heart, he doesn't cry and whine. Just wants to be held. Just wants to snuggle and nurse. So, I try to comfort him best I can and give myself to him as he needs. Then, when he finally dozes I try to get everything else done around the house. Needless to say, our house is a mess!! :-P

Parenting--mothering means less of me--more of ....children!! (DUH!) Not just when they are sick, but when they're hyper, happy, sticky, giggly, squirmy, grumpy, and sad. Children grow quickly, they are ever changing and ever learning. I love that I do not have to send them away to a public or private institution where I would hardly get to see them throughout the day and miss the the little things they do and say!

The thought that crossed my mind this week and particularly this weekend when Eli got sick is I can thow a tantrum and cry and shout all I want too but having a pity party isn't going to accomplish anything or make anyone feel any better. The mother's attitude sets the tone for the home. Children observe closely and pick up a whole lot--even if you don't say a word.

Sure I've had a tough week. My house is messy, my hair is tangled, and my baby is feverish and teething. You don't envy me, I get it. But, I am right this moment counting my blessing once more again. And as I sacrifice little things throughout the 7 day week and my childrens growing up years, it's okay..it really is!! Mothering, as I have said before draws me to the Lord. Just like any saved believer, not only mothers--we are to shed the world and ourselves and draw closer to the Heavenly Father. We can never draw close to Him if we are filled with ourselves. I shed "myself" with each drippy nose I wipe, with each kiss I give away, and each time I take time to listen to my little ones.....I shed "myself" each time I teach a school lesson, vaccuum the carpet.....and even each time I serve and love my husband.

If you've had a hard week--Give it up to the LORD. And use it for His Glory!!

How Being a Mother Has Drawn Me Closer to God

Before I became a mother I was a very different person then I am today.

Before I got married, I was a very different person then when I was single.

From where I stand right now, this very day, I can look back in time and see where I have been and where I am now. I can see the changes and choices.

Every year, as Christians we should see change...positive change. A drawing nearer to the Savior. A releasing of the world and the things in it. By the Grace of God, I am so thankful to see a change in my life. Where I started, years ago I was rooted in baby Christianity. It was a stand still. There wasn't much change. I was a Christian but teetering as close as I could to the world without falling off. Passing by me, you might not have known I was a Christian.

Over the years though things started changing. There was yearning for something different. A desire to hear the Word and follow it. It has been a journey and it is being made alongside my husband. How dear it is to follow the Lord's path with your spouse by your side.

Well as the years have come and gone, I have been blessed with three little boys! What gifts to be entrusted with. And with motherhood, once again, the Lord uses it to draw women closer to the Lord. I know I am not the only one.

Motherhood changes and trasforms everything. Not just the things that are obvious or written about in pregnancy magazines.

Motherhood draws me closer to God .....

• By giving me more patience. Course, I don't have a perfect dose of patience yet. But, amen, I do have more patience then I did. Before I had children, I had very little patience. I was not one to hold my tounge or pray about something before making a decsion. Now, with little ones, esp. little ones that are in their early learning ages, I practice patience daily. Sometimes, making dinner takes a half an hour longer because little hands are measuring and mixing and mistakes are made. Often, patience is exercised all day long while correcting and diciplining. Who was it that said, practice makes perfect? That saying goes right along with patience. A mother's work is never done and there will probably never be a mother that has patience perfected, so to speak.  But us mothers sure have a great training ground.

• By helping me trust more in HIM then myself. Mothers have big loads. (And I don't just mean laundry) We carry burderns for our children's salvation, their walk with the Lord, their character, if homeschooling- their education, their social relationships, their health...well, you get my point. And so often, it is overwhelming. How many times can I remember taking my own problem and trying to solve it on my own? Many times. And how many times, did using my own solution work? It didn't. It made more of a mess usually and wore me out. Being a mother, there isn't enough time at hand to work out my own solutions for each of my children. I must give it all to Jesus. I know Jesus has a plan for each of my children, even myself and my husband. During weary and hard days, I have to look to Jesus and give Him by burdens. During joyful days, I give Him thanks and try not to take forgranted my blessings. This is a constant circle, a circle of trust, thanks and prayer. Being a mother I find myself on my knees, which helps for those times scrubbing the floor, too!! ;-)

• By giving me new priorities. Who would have thought five years ago, we would be homeschooling.  Things change! But believe me, for the good. As a single woman, I was very much wrapped into myself! It is funny to think about it now, even. The time spent looking in the mirror, checking makeup...reapplying coats of lipstick, ha! How long I spent on my hair or in the shower. Now, showers are much quicker, my make up routine has simplified, (and my husband likes the way I look this way better! Less is more!!) and my focus has opened up to not just me but my family. As a mother, I find myself always asking...is this more important or should I get down on the floor with the kids and play? Or is there time for the computer right now or do I need to get dinner started? Will this effect my children's worldview? The Lord gives us discernment if we are in tune with Him and often, my priorities are re-evaluted.

There are countless other ways motherhood has drawn me closer with the Lord. For each one I must give thanks...some are easy to speak of and others are not because they are the parts of motherhood that bring frustration, tears, heart aches, and pain. But our relationship with our children closely traces the relationship Jesus has with His Children. Next time you wipe your childs tears away, kiss a boo boo, rejoice over a victory won, or get that warm, swell in your heart watching them play sweetly with their sibling....Think of Christ. He watches from Above, cares for you, rejoices with you, has concern for you, is happy for you... And is always there to teach and mold you.

{Baby Love}

 Saturday evening, I fell prey to a stomach virus. I was knocked out by this and spent Sunday lounging around, weak and tired but thankfully holding down food. My husband dressed and took the boys to church with him and on his bus route so I was only left with baby Elijah. We had a sweet morning together, being lazy together. It was a much needed restful day! I don't know how such a tiny little soul can bring such a big peice of joy to someone like he does, but I won't try to deny it. He fills me up to the brim with such joy! Packaged up in fuzzy blue pajamas, he definitely gave me much needed medicine today--

Thank God for little ones....

All Smiles




Silly Boy



A Tonsilitis Thanksgiving

Wow!! I cannot believe Christmas is soon approaching! I got behind somewhere between the change of seasons and in the endless heap of laundry that is always piling up! With a baby on my hip life is a tad crazy from day to day and we usually welcome the unexpected turn of events from day to day with wide arms (Well, what choice do we really have!?) Well, with so much time missed in between I will only write of our Thanksgiving holiday, I so badly had wanted to list some things I was thankful for but never obviously got around to it. Instead, I was able to actually write them out on a peice of paper and stick it inside our thankful box. (See Click here to see blog entry from His Loving Presence about thankful box)

For Thanksgiving it was becoming a bit of a tradition to meet up with family in a cozy town called Frankenmuth. They celebrate Christmas all year around so when Thanksgiving rolls around it is a magical city indeed! Lights galore, horse and carriages, and the birth of Christ celebrated and proclaimed. The food is pretty amazing to boot. So, for a bit of holiday shopping in the tiny shops that line the quaint streets and a family style dinner we've been doing that and looking quite forward to it, too. Well, a few days before our trip my poor hubby starts coming down with a dreadful cold...which turns into a horrible sore throat..which leads us to cancel our trip. He is miserable and in tons of pain which at times, was pretty scary and we contemplated a ER trip at one point.

I was pretty dismayed and dissapointed, especially since I had not planned on cooking a Thanksgiving meal. The eve of I scanned the papers and placed a call to Krogers to see if they had any more premade Thankgiving meals. They did! Seemed like a huge blessing and load lifted at the time!! Chad of course, come Thanksgiving couldn't really even think about eating and thinking of it now, probably lucky he couldn't ...the food from Kroger was pretty bad LOL.

I was feeling pretty sorry that we couldn't go to Frankenmuth and all our plans were "ruined" (At the time, everything seems pretty hopeless even though I knew we would take this trip the following weekend granted Chad felt better...Silly me!) I felt so bad for Chad who was lifelessly napping on the couch. I just felt crummy! But, as I mused more about how bad all the circumstances were around me I concluded I was actually making things much worse then they were. Of course, Chad felt horrible. Yes he did. But he was home, with his family. We were TOGETHER! He would recover. I thought of all who were in the hospital, eating a Thanksgiving meal and suffering from a disease that would rob them of their life eventually. I thought of those who were home but ALONE because they had lost their spouse. I thought of those who had NO food on the table or for that matter had no table, no home, no bed. I thought of those who have no hope. I had plans to go to a magical little Christmas town with my beautiful family for the next weekend. I have many, many things to look forward to. Some do not.

So, no matter your circumstance there is always a reason to stop the self pity and thank God for His Goodness.

I hope everyone was able to give thanks to the Lord this Thanksgiving and truly be thankful for everything He has given.


PS~ We were convinced Chad had tonsiltitis but as it would have it, he had strep throat we found out! But for the sake of having a catchy blog title, I will keep it tonsilitis hehe!!! :~)