"You're a good mommy"

For all of you moms out there, the title is what you want to hear. It is what you work toward each day.

There are many days lately when I sure don't feel like a good mom. I get frustrated easily. I'm tired. I feel like I am constantly fighting the same battles.

There are lots of times when I just don't know what to do. But when you are a mom, you can't give up. There are not breaks or vacations. It is constant, it is daily.

And when the chaos is more than you can deal with- you just have to sit back, and "laugh so you don't cry."

A few days ago I was talking to my mom on Facetime. Both kids were everywhere and into everything. Gus was holding onto the handles of the fridges and climbing up it......yeah isn't that special!?!?!? I just started laughing and there were a few tears mixed in because it was just a crazy mom moment.

Later my mom texted me, and she said, "You're a good mommy." I needed to hear that. In the midst of all the crazyness, of me not knowing if I'm doing things right, she still thought I was doing ok. And that's all we need to hear sometimes. Not anymore tips on how to do things. But just to know that in our striving to do the right thing, we are doing ok.

The days are long, but they are flying by quickly. I love being a mom. I love my kids. I want to be a good mom- and I will be spending the rest of my life LEARNING how to do it.

Thank you mom- for encouraging me. And for laughing with me when my kids are being kids.

Here's a few Pinterest finds I like that I like to remind myself of every once in a while:

Build 'Em Up: Creative Correction

Several of my favorite bloggers are doing a link-up so I thought I would join in. And wow- this topic has been on my mind for the last few days.

Correction, it feels like that is all I am doing these days!

I was a pretty good kid growing up. A lot of the time my parents could just talk to me, and I would straighten up. And even when I ask them now, I wasn't a bad kid. Josh was a good kid too.

Before I had kids, there was one thing I wanted to be careful to not do- not be too hard on the oldest child. I'm an oldest child, and I'm not saying my parents did anything wrong. But it is so easy to come down really hard on your first child. I wanted to try to avoid that.

Enter my first born child- wow. This boy was hard-headed from the beginning. I had to begin lots of correction with him from an early age. I tried lots of different things, and he is still a handful. He is currently at the stage where he will push and push to the very limit. It's wearing this mommy out!

I feel many days like I am failing. I ask him not to do something or to stop doing something, and he just keeps on doing it. Some nights I just tell Josh I don't know what to do.

I believe with all my heart it is my job to train my child- and that includes discipline. The Bible is very clear on that. You only have to watch one episode of Super Nanny or any show like that to see what can happen if you do not have your child under control.

Gus is young- just 2 1/2 years old. Training a child takes years. It takes consistency. It takes work. It is something I cannot give up on. It is my job, it is my calling as a parent.

And at night when I am ready to cry and pull my hair out, I take a deep breath, go to bed, and prepare for another day- and hopefully one day it will sink in.

Yesterday I read a verse that really spoke to me, and it said "The Lord is slow to anger." I have been having such a hard time lately and am not always slow to anger. It is my prayer that I can be slow to anger in correcting my children. Maddie isn't far behind Gus, and it will be a learning process figuring out how to discipline her as well. I believe if you love your child, you will correct them. It is one of the most important things we can do. And it is not easy!

Here are a few things I think are important. Obviously I am not an expert by any means and have much to learn!

1. Tell your children you love them, even after you discipline them. They need to know it is done out of love.

2. Tell them why they are in trouble, and as they get older have them tell you why they are in trouble. If they understand why, then they can learn to not repeat it.

3. Talk to other moms going through the same things. Find a friend who has a child with a similar disposition and see what they have done. There are so many different personalities, it helps to have someone you can talk to who understand what you are going through.

And of course the best thing is to pray for your child and pray that you will know they best way to raise them.

 

Am I doing things right???

Am I a good mom??

Am I teaching Gus enough each day?

Do I pay enough attention to him, and also enough attention to keeping the house clean?

Did he eat enough healthy food today?

Do I have all the groceries I need for dinner, or what I am going to cook for dinner?

How can I raise two kids if I'm not even sure I'm raising one right?

Do we get out of the house enough?

Have we been gone from the house too much and need more time at home?

Am I sloppy because I have a stack of papers I just can't seemed to get cleaned off of the table?

These and so many other thoughts have been plaguing me lately. Yes, we have a lot going on right now. Josh has been busy with work. We've been busy with activities. We are trying to get ready for the baby. Oh yeah and I'm pregnant...... Maybe the pregnancy is playing with my head. I know deep down things are ok. I'm not doing anything "wrong." But- I want to do the best job at everything.

So today:

I'm going to love on my little boy

I'm going to dance with Gus when he wants to dance

I'm going so make sure I get a little rest- so I can grow a healthy little girl

I'm going to enjoy the rainy Fall weather

I'm going to pick up the house if I have time, and if I don't it can wait

I'm going to make an easy dinner- baked potatoes

I'm going to thank God for all the amazing blessings He has poured out on me

And I choose joy- what a blessed life I live :)

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As For Me and My House, We Will Serve The Lord

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17

"Don't you see that children are God's best gift?" Psalm 127: 3 (The Message)

From the time we found out Gus was on the way, it has been my prayer that he would come to know the Lord as his Savior. More than anything, this is my desire for him. And I know that there are many other people who have prayed for my son as well. My prayer for me as his mother, is that I will know how to teach him and show him the importance of Jesus in my life, and that he will come to know God's saving grace. 

When your child is young, all you can do is pray- pray for wisdom in raising them, pray for their soul, and pray that you will grow closer to God so you can be an example. As they grow, there are more and more things you can teach them. 

 We have several books that I think will help Gus learn more about God. It gives me such joy every time he chooses these books for me to read to him. And as I read them over and over and over again, I pray the words will never leave him. Here is are several we have:

Gus and I also listen to Bible songs throughout the day. I have a Cedarmont Kids station on my Pandora radio on my phone, and I turn it on for us to listen to. I hope he slowly learns these songs by heart. 

We pray each night before we eat dinner. As I wrote about yesterday, Gus has started sitting at the table next to Josh. Last night when Josh and I held each other's hands to pray, Josh asked Gus for his hand. For the first time, Gus gave Josh his hand and held it through the prayer. This gave me so much joy and brought a tear to my eye. As I sit here and write this, Little Miss is kicking inside me, and I have all the same prayers for her. 

 Josh and I have been reading The Power of a Praying Parent together, and I highly recommend it. I can never be reminded enough to pray for my children.

I wanted to share my joy with you today. And I hope this can serve as a reminder for you as it will for me to pray for you children. 

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4

Mischief

There isn't anything much more fun than watching your child learn and grow. It all happens so quickly, it's hard to keep up sometimes! But...... there are some things you wish your child wouldn't do, and then the fun of disciplining begins. And wow- I think it may be as difficult has a baby waking up multiple times in the night.

We call Gus our little Firecracker. He has a fun personality but likes to get his way! He has learned several new tricks lately which aren't always our favorite.

 For instance, this is where I found him a few mornings ago:

 As you can guess, the flowers had to be moved. This practice of crawling onto the coffee table is strongly discouraged :)

And since we have learned to climb on things, this is another new trick:

So far, he is only climbing into the recliner and not onto the other furniture. But, standing in the recliner is a favorite activity, and another one that is strongly discouraged :)

I love watching Gus learn. I love that he enjoys exploring and figuring things out. I pray that I learn to discipline him in a way that is pleasing to God. I know it is the job of parents to train their children, and I take this responsibility very seriously. It isn't always easy, but I know it is what is best for all of us. I've watched those "Nanny" shows where the children are out of control. I never want that to be me. And so, each day, I do my very best to train Gus "in the way he should go." I pray that "when he is old he will not turn from it." But let me tell you, there are many days when I am ready to give up!! I'm so blessed to have a teammate to help me. Josh is such a great daddy and husband. I'm so thankful that we work together to train Gus, and that we agree on how we want to raise him.

As I'm writing this morning, we have already had confrontations with Gus about crawling on the table and standing in the chair. I'm sure it is going to happen many more times before he goes to bed tonight. But one day, he is going to understand, and we won't be fighting about it anymore. And there will be something else to learn. I want to take it all in, the good and bad. I love my little boy, and he won't be a little boy forever.