Remembering the Simple Joys of Being Mom!

God blesses us all in so many ways, and often we take His blessings for granted.  All too I often take for granted the incredible blessing of being a Mom to 4 beautiful, healthy children.  So often I end the day exhausted and ready for "peace-and-quiet."  Or I start the day frustrated by the way-too-early wake up call from the kids because I'm not ready to be "on duty" yet.  When they bicker and fight, whine and complain, disobey or disrespect me, it infringes on MY PLANS.  Rather than see these as teachable moments, I all too often see them as interruptions in my day!  How grateful I am for the grace of God!

And how grateful I am for what He is teaching me through my kids and through our time here in Ometepec.  What a joy and blessing it has been to watch my kids learn so much:  to listen to them speak fluently in Spanish with each other and with their friends; to listen to Hailey read; to hear Brady rattle of Bible verses each week and count to 100; to help Lydia sound out new words each day and watch her start to love math; to listen to Chayce sing small parts of songs, both in Spanish and English.  What a blessing to make quesadillas with Hailey yesterday and tacos the week before with Brady; to see the girls joyfully cleaning the school room book-by-book to get ready for English classes; to be greeted with a full-out run and bear hug from Chayce every time I return home or he wakes from a nap; to help Brady learn to swim on his own and see his huge smile when he swam halfway across the pool; to read "I Spy" books with Chayce every day;

to do exercise videos with Lydia and watch her effort and perseverance; to read "I Spy" over and over again with Chayce; to be "pampered" at the "Johnson Girl Salon" by Hailey and Lydia with manicure, pedicure, massage and hair-up-do; to referee the "lucha libre" or wrestling matches between Chayce and Brady on the bed!

Why is it so easy to focus on the difficult times, to forget these incredible joys and live in the moment?  Each night the kids race to be the first to say "I love you most, too late" and every morning they come searching for a good-morning hug.  Brady asks throughout the day, "Mommy, do you want to play with me?" and Chayce wants to "kick the ball" or "play Legos WITH YOU Mommy!"  I know these days and years will pass quickly, so why is it so hard to fully embrace these moments, to say "YES!" to every invitation to play, to just BE present with my kids?

 

I thank the Lord for the privilege of homeschooling my kids in this stage of life.  Although it has brought battles with each one at different points, God is using it to teach me, to humble me, to grow me.  And He's blessed me with incredible times with my kids--painting Zebras, watching videos of penguins and marveling at God's creation, hearing Brady remind us all once a day that we should be like elephants who never forget, capturing grasshoppers and ants, walking to the nearby basketball court for PE and playing soccer, memorizing the books of the Bible and reading incredible stories from God's Word.  Thank you, Lord for these times.  Thank you, Lord, for the gift of children.  And most of all, thank you for your GRACE!  May I learn to embrace the joy of each moment with my children and count them as gifts from Your hand!