On Mothering

Coming up on Mother's Day, when my mom is almost always on the road, I've been thinking a lot about how special it is to be wanted by your children ...

those moments of "MamaMamaMamaMamaMamaMamaMama!", or not being able to put down the baby at all for whatever reason, or feeling awful as you leave them crying as you go out the door, or being woken up 5, 6, a million times a night because they need you to feed them / hold them / comfort them / give them medicine / just be with them. Or "watch me!" or "heeeeelp!", or "come play with me!" Or like this morning, when I'm trying to go over some important things at my desk, very awkwardly, because there is a wiggly toddler in my lap, just wanting my attention.

I miss my mom. I miss her smell, and her hugs, and just her presence in the room. Our children feel the same way. What a blessing and a pleasure to be so loved, and treasured and wanted! When there are so many women who want a child more than anything, and so many who's children are grown and gone, and worse of all, those who have lost their children. There are parents of children who want nothing to do with them, and that is a tragedy. Sometimes it's so frustrating and so very very exhausting to have to give so much of yourself. But they just want their Mama. And you're it. So, I'm trying to shift my focus, and remember now that they're bonding with me, and they're building relationship with me. And I want that! I want them to always want their Mama, and to know that I always want them too.

Because God sees

I was feeling sort of silly yesterday, washing the kitchen window. I thought, "no one will even notice this", but I finished it anyway, because it needed to be done and because I wanted it done. 

Today I saw this and it spoke right into my own every day existence... 

" ... the antidote for my own pride" jumped out at me most. I needed to hear that so badly! In all my tired, un-showered post-partumness, I needed to hear this so badly.

I know I'm not the only one. 

"Parenthood is a partnership with God. You are not molding iron nor chiseling marble; you are working with the Creator of the universe in shaping human character and determining destiny." - Ruth Vaughn

The Great Adventure

Today has been a beautiful day for my son.
Yes, I'm exercising my right as a mom, and taking a moment to brag on my little boy.
I'm just really proud of the exceptionally great day Solomon has had! 

He has listened well, spoken to us carefully and with patience, succeeded at difficult tasks, paid sweet and special attention to his sister, made lots of independent and positive choices, and just showed us his very best self all day long. 

Solomon is so exceptional. Despite my previous statement, I don't say that in a bragging way, but mean it literally. He is a free spirit, a non-conformist, an exceptionally determined little toddler. At times, so much so that it is a real challenge for him to stop and listen. This is simply who he is. He is spirited! He thinks forward and feels deeply. He isn't defiant, but is full of curiosity and energy, and such determination to explore any and every wide open space. He is intensely interested in learning, and delves in so deeply to his activities and ideas. Truly, if we all had his passion, we could change the world!

We spend a lot of time quieting his loud voice and calming him down enough to take one step at a time. We spend a lot of time laughing hysterically, receiving gigantic arms-around-the-neck-pat-on-the-back hugs, and talking about all the things that Solomon sees, hears, or does, and wants to see or hear or do. We marvel at all that he is.

We spend time praying over our children, that God will make them both their very best selves, and that He will make us both the very best parents that we can be for our children. One of my greatest goals, hopes, and prayers for my own life, is that I will be enough for my children - that I will be what they need me to be, so that they can be what they are meant to be. 

Solomon, and now Adalyn too, have taken us on such a journey. We climb and sweat, we take in the sights, and we dive deep into the cool waters. We navigate with all of the best tools that we have in our backpacks, and constantly seek out the best trails and routes. Today was really beautiful. I'm really thankful for it. I'm proud of my son. I'm proud of both of my precious little ones! They are my greatest adventure!

"While we try to teach children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." -Angela Schwindt

Homemade Play

I dreamed up a little activity last night and wanted to share! 

I have a very busy little two-year-old, so I'm always working on thinking up some special activity for him. Solomon is spirited and curious, and tends to "find" trouble if there's nothing else interesting going on. He is also very social and likes to be WITH someone else almost always. So as often as I can I like to have a fun activity for just the two of us. This literally came to me in my sleep last night, so we tried it today.

Texture play! The idea was to let him search and feel through the rice to find all the pretzels, and place them into the smaller container. Then, snack time! I got out some rice, pretzel sticks, a large dish, and a small container. I ended up using a smaller casserole dish because the length of the first one made it too shallow to cover the pretzels.

I poured half of the box of rice into the dish, and hid about a handful of pretzel sticks inside, just so that they were mostly covered. Of course, as soon as Solomon realized there were pretzels inside, he ate one.

Then he heard me as I explained, "Let's find all of them, and put them in your bowl. Then you can have them for a snack!" So he got the idea, and did a great job finding them.

I helped him find the very last one, which had gotten shoved all the way up to the edge. He copied the motion of my hand and we had a mess. No worries! I expected as much. Dry goods are very easily cleaned up! Having a snack ready was the perfect opportunity for me to distract him.
"Oh look! Now you eat your pretzels!"

He also copied me as I swept the excess rice back into the casserole dish, which I loved. A little cleaning up lesson was a bonus to this activity!

I poured all the used rice into a ziploc bag for us to use again for an activity or craft. So, it's not wasted, and we can do this again another time. Next time I'll most likely add a second snack item of a different size and shape to step it up a bit. Of course this will make the snacking part more exciting too! Win/win!

This only took a few minutes from start to finish, but set up and clean up were also very quick and easy, and it was a nice "something different" to throw into our normal day. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Something about the Christmas season brings me back to this place - this blog. Probably that celebratory feeling - it just makes me feel joyful and homey and extra mindful of all the wonderful people in our lives. So I want to share! This season we are a family of four for the first time, and making new memories again. This is Adalyn's first Christmas! She turned 4 months old just a few days before Christmas.

Solomon has grown so much since last year! In fact, last year he wasn't quite walking yet. What a difference a year makes when you're so little! I love making new memories and having new experiences with him all the time. This season just makes all of that even more special. This year he and I made salt dough ornaments together for our tree, and to gift to family members. 

He helped mix the dough, which he loved, then helped cut out the shapes. Over the next week he and Daddy had a couple of painting sessions and he did that part all himself! There were just a few that I added a bit of "fill-in" color to afterward. He loved this whole process, and we so enjoyed doing it with him!

Like most people, one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is decorating my house. I absolutely love Christmas decorations! I like finding ways to add touches to every room if I can, and doing things a little differently each year. 

This year I made a simple little jingle bell garland and I love it! We will definitely be hanging it again, year after year.

All of these pictures I took randomly one day during a quiet moment, as Adalyn napped and Solomon snacked, and they are true to life. So there is dust and disorder, and true signs of LIFE being lived, during this blessed season. Our Little People Nativity was in just this condition, and so it is captured just that way. I don't want to forget the details of exactly who my children were this year, and how they enjoyed Christmas. 

For the first time in my life, I really thought nothing of what I would receive for Christmas, but was entirely focused on my children, and what this time would mean for them. 

They each received mostly simple toys from us - a baby doll and tiny wagon for Adalyn, a farm and tool kit for Solomon. However, I absolutely relished in carefully selecting each gift for my babies, and have been overjoyed seeing them with them.

Solomon's favorite parts of Christmas this year were Advent treats (candy!), "Train!" (The Polar Express), Christmas trees and stars everywhere you look, having Daddy home for Christmas break, and being with all of his family members who he loves SO much. His favorite gifts were the Melissa & Doug Latch Board and alphabet puzzle from Mama & Daddy, a squishy green ball from Grammy & Papa, t-ball set from his Uncle Will, and Cars 2 4-pack from Granny.

Adalyn mostly enjoyed having lots of people around to talk to her and hold her, and will enjoy most of her gifts when she's just a tad older.

Thank you Lord for these gifts, my precious children! Thank you for the Christ-child who was born so long ago, so that all of this could be possible for us! Thank you for a new year, and a new season of growth for us all. We are blessed beyond all measure!