The Story Behind the Picture

I don't know about you, but any time we have family pictures there is always a story behind the picture.
Take our recent Christmas pictures for example.

The last picture is my little girl getting fed up with everything, throwing her hands in the air saying, "I'm all done!" and walking out. Yep, she took her 3 year old self and just walked out.

To top it off after shooting hundreds of pictures these were the good ones! LOL

I'd gotten up early to go and buy everyone white socks. Early. Three packs of white socks. Early. What do you see on their precious little feet. Why? Why do they think I bought brand new, white socks??

The Scowler. You see him? He's 7 going on 70. You want to know his story for the scowl? You see there was this Etch A Sketch. Yes, that Etch A Sketch. The one you can only draw different lines on. The one you shake and it makes a great noise and then you can start all over. His little sister was playing with it and he shook it and she got mad and walked away. He was playing with it and his big brother came over and shook it and he got mad. But there was no walking away for this one. OH NO! He proceeded to scowl through all of the pictures. All of them. I even offered McDonalds for lunch if he would just wipe the scowl off. I'm not above bribing to get a good picture. Dollar menus are always handy. It didn't work and it stunk for me because guess what? We were already going to McDs for lunch that day anyway. Groan. I'd broken one of my cardinal rules, don't make a consequence you don't intend to keep. After the trials and tribulations of that morning there was no way I was giving up lunch out. I guess I could have switched it to the salad place up the street, but they don't have a dollar menu. :P

What does any of this have to do with encouraging you to keep up the good work you are doing?
We all have days where it just seems that our kids are working against everything we are fighting for. Does my son have a heart issue that needs to be addressed. He absolutely does and we are addressing it. Believe it or not this is not the first time his attitude has tried to ruin everyone else's day. He has an anger problem and boy can that kid hold a grudge. We chose not to address the heart issue on this day though. We believe in consistency. However in this short journey we've been on we've also learned that sometimes you just have to let something go. His dad had a talk with him later that day.
The photographer was great and we all laughed and joked about the pictures. Yes, I bought them because you know what? It was a good memory. It really captured my kids well. It was a good memory... for most of us! I hope that one day he can look back and laugh at himself. We have years of training ahead with him and our other children. That one day did not break any of us.
Remember this is a marathon you are on. Some days we'll be running down hill and there will be a breeze and someone at the bottom waiting to hand us a cup of water. Other days we'll be running up hill, sweat pouring off of us, our lungs about to burst and there will be someone on the sideline telling you that you're kids are going to rebel and reject everything you've ever taught them.
One day, one defiant act of behavior, one scowl will not ruin everything you've done. I'm trying to learn to be grateful for those days because they give me insight into my kids and where they are struggling. Use the days when things are right to tie those heart strings. To make those memories that you hope everyone will look back on with a smile. The hard days will be there waiting, but we can use the good memories to make the hard days a little easier.


Hang in there, mama! YOU ARE DOING A GREAT WORK!!


I posted this in the Raising Homemakers Link Up! Check out all the great ideas over there.

Why this blog?

Moms,  how many times have you been busy about your work, keeping your home, taking care of your children, making dinner for that hard working husband, wiping another snotty nose, kissing another, so small you can't even see it, boo-boo, when bam from out of nowhere someone comes along to tell you that your doing it all wrong? You weren't expecting it. You sat down to catch up on email or facebook and there it is right in front of you. You click on the message still sipping a cup of lukewarm coffee and what you see there makes your heart crash.


Dear You,
                I think that you are raising your children all wrong. You have too many rules. You expect too much of them. You're too overprotective. You shelter them too much. You should send them to school (or you should be homeschooling them). How dare you not send your kids to youth group. Who do you think you are? My kids were raised a totally different way and they are ok! Who do you think you are?


                                                                                                        Signed,
                                                                                                               Nosey Nelly


Yep. Here you thought you were doing a pretty good job. Not perfect and, yes, there is always room for improvement. You still thought you were doing the best you could. You think back to the times your children were around this person and can't remember a thing they've done or said to indicate they were living a miserable life. You remember the times you failed. However, you also remember the times a stranger has stopped by your table at a restaurant and complimented your children. You remember the late night discussions on a chapter of Matthew you've all been reading around the dinner table. You remember that your kids love nothing more than to pull out the hymnal and sing praises to God. You thought you were doing an ok job.

I'm here to tell you: "MOM! YOU ARE DOING A GREAT WORK! DON'T COME DOWN! DON'T BE DISTRACTED BY THOSE WHO WANT TO DISCOURAGE YOU!

Your job is from the Lord. You are to be busy about your work. I've come to realize over the years that I have to be obedient to God. You see, I don't even know that it's about my kids. They could all turn their backs on Jesus. My heart would be broken and I would grieve mightily. I would have rug burn from the hours I would spend in prayer for their souls. But I would also know that I'd done what God had called me to do. He has called me to homeschool our children. (He never said that my first 3 students would have learning difficulties and we'd face years of just catching up with them!) He has called us to be a part of a church community that integrates babies, children and youth with adults. Where families worship together. Where families with youth are encouraged to participate in activities together as a family. In other words our church does not have a dedicated youth group or children's department.
Yes, I am flawed. Good night, yes! I don't do everything perfectly. Here it is December 9th and we are on day 4 of our Advent reading. Ahem. We've been sick for the last five days and nothing is getting done around here. The kids just sat in front of Netflix for about 7 hours today while I was slowly dying in my room just miserable. We all have those days where it feels like nothing we do is of any use to anyone.
However, what about those days when your five or six (or in some cases 8) year old reads a book all by themselves? What about those days when your little boy is sick and his older brother (who is usually his biggest nemesis) wants to bring him some water? What about those days that your teen daughter comes in to discuss a book she's reading and you end up sharing life's dreams and goals for hours? What about when your kids are sad because your family can't make it to church even though there is no "program" for them to go to and they'll be "stuck" in big church?
YOU ARE DOING A GREAT WORK!

I want to use this blog to encourage all mothers who are just doing the best they can to train their children in the admonition of the Lord. Who want nothing more than to hear that their children are walking in truth. Who just pray that their children will love Jesus and serve Him always!

I am a homeschooling, stay at home wife and mother so that's the perspective I'll be blogging from, but I know there are lots of Jesus loving mamas out there who work or who have their kids in school. I want this to be for you too. We all love our kids and want to see them serving God. I'll do my best to encourage everyone who comes here. If I post about homeschooling or something else your family doesn't do then just take what you can from it and know that I am not condemning you for anything.  I think my very own Nosey Nellys have felt that my "radical" parenting methods are in condemnation to how they raised their children. That makes me sad, because I think in the end we are all Christ loving mamas just doing the best we can.