mamas

Happy Birthday to Isabella “Izzy” Grace, the girl who made me a mom for the seventh time! She is a surprise joy and was loved by sisters and brothers before she was even born! She made her appearance April 4 and is fitting in well. She gets to be dressed up all the time and plenty of girls to pick out clothes and help with bath time. Part of the fun of motherhood for me is picking out clothes, sewing clothes, or making hair bows!

Now I travel with snot on my sleeve, clean up spit up, pick up poop with my hands, run girls to ballet, tell deacon not to lick the dishwasher or drink out of the humidifier like a dog, facilitate school, keep up with laundry and what leos need to be clean for certain days, put together healthful meals, make sure they are at church and make sure we talk about God’s love at home. Whew!

I also get the best hugs, “I love you’s” when I don’t deserve it, unending colored pictures to hang up, smiles when I pick them up from a class, movie-watching buddies, people to watch butterflies with, and reminders of the wonder of God’s creation and life itself. They also like to make cups of icy Coke 0 for me and bowls of cheese balls. No complaints here. Sometimes all I need is a bowl of cheese balls…

I do not always get to hang out with other girls, but I definitely love it when I do! Some ballet friends and I get together every so often and it is refreshing for my soul! It can get lonely out there! When we met recently, we laughed because if we had stayed at home, we would have found other tasks to accomplish, like dusting or laundry for me!

With the girls, we talked about moms with Mother's Day approaching. I thank God for the honor to guide these children to become a woman who follows Him all her life. Through my eyes as a mother, I am reminded of the depths of God’s grace. If I love my own children this much, how much more does our heavenly Father love us!

Nobody is perfect and none of us had a perfect childhood. Sometimes it even seems that moms are not who we need them to be for us. Even the best of moms make mistakes. It is important to remember that people do their best with what they know - including moms. Sometimes they make mistakes because they are simply living what they know. It reminds us that nobody can truly fulfill us except Jesus! Praise Him for being everything we need! It is also nice to pray that our own children will extend grace to us for our imperfections and love us for who we are, mistakes and all! Moms need grace and encouragement too!

When Ella Kate was a toddler, she woke up one morning, fascinated by a ladybug on her window screen. We watched her crawl around for a while and it made me slow down and enjoy a moment in life. This week, Deacon ran to the window to watch the garbage truck grab the can and dump it into the truck. We watched it dump each house all the way to the end of the street. It was nice to sit still and enjoy that moment. I also don't look at dandelions as weeds anymore. They are treasures that deserve to be placed in a mason jar on the table.

I don’t know how it is in your family, but my mom reminds me that, while my sisters and I talk about her, and laugh about her peculiarities, I have five daughters who will talk about me one day! I am sure there will be plenty to talk about! Every mom is entitled to a little crazy, right?!

At the end of the day, in the quiet, I often think that I really messed the day up or think about what I could have done better. There might be something to learn through the mistakes, but it’s not a place to get stuck. Let’s learn from it and do better in the future. Ask for God’s help each day because He always hears. Sometimes I ask for His help and guidance every hour. Sometimes I just talk to Him as I grumble through how the day is not turning out the way I envisioned. As moms we might worry we are ruining our children or have not done enough. Maybe we yelled today, got snappy with them, forgot lunch, sent them to ballet without a neatly done bun, have crumbs all over the kitchen floor, you know what I mean.

As moms ourselves, we are not awesome enough to save our kids - only God can do that. Fortunately, we are not awesome enough to ruin them either - we simply do our very best and leave God to handle the rest. When I remember that, it takes a load off me and I can breathe a little easier thanks to God’s grace.

Until next time, have a bowl of cheese balls and enjoy the spring season!

God hears the prayers of the righteous.

Proverbs 15:29

Love,

Charis

pic(k) of the week:

When you realize you went to the post office with an upside down tiara on your head because Raegan said, “That’s how the princesses wear them.” I either looked like a complete weirdo or the best mom ever…