My mom often tells me i should start a blog about all of the new things I'm learning as a mother, from cloth diapering to using many new organic and all natural products. I will be the first to tell you, however, that i certainly do not wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and think "Wow, people could REALLY learn from me!" haha! But my heart is truly for the Lord, and for young mothers all over the globe! It has been a desire of mine to share with, and be in a group amidst young mothers everywhere for quite some time.
First off, I'd like to start off by saying, there are always dishes in my sink, dirty laundry to be washed, carpets that need vacuumed and seriously scrubbed, and I have only mopped my kitchen floor maybe 4 times since moving in... 4 years ago! There are things i just don't get to, there are piles i pretend do not exist, and thus am not attempting to tell ANYONE how to run their home! My joy in life is truly that my husband supports my desire to be home with our children, teaching them, playing with them, and loving them. I see it as my job to keep our home clean, this family well fed, our cupboards stocked with healthy food, and each need of love individually met. However, i learned long before even having our first child that there is no humanly possibly way to do all of this and keep a perfect home! I admire mothers who spend hours working on their houses and keeping all of their linens clean and folded perfectly in their cabinets. In this house we have a mismatch of random towels and blankets crammed into the tiny space we call a "linen closet" and maybe once a year i go through them and organize it. We have probably 6 mostly used baby shampoo bottles in the bathroom that i will eventually combine into one full one. The point of me saying all of this? The basis of my heart for women and mothers is honesty. We are not perfect! God made me to raise these beautiful children, and i have come to understand the fact that at the end of my life i will not say " I wish i'd kept a cleaner house!" Instead i will be able to remember all the times i sat with my children and read books, made up new games hiding under a blanket, or becoming a human slide. My children go to bed knowing they are loved, not noticing that i didn't scrub their toys with lysol every night, or that i didn't alphabetize their bookshelf.
Incredibly enough for me though, I am supported by an amazing man of God who sees these desires of my heart and whole heartedly stands behind them. He is not the type of man to come home and find something i neglected to do, or be jealous of that fact that i was home with the kids while he worked hard. He always finds something wonderful to say, even on days when nothing gets done. He knows that our children are loved and played with, not ignored or sat in front of a TV for hours. Some women have husbands that have different expectations of dinner on the table, the house to be clean, and i am in full support of this relationship as well. Each marriage is different and if Bryce were to require a pristine home, i would find a way to get that done! I do still try my hardest to do the things he doesn't ask, have dinner ready, the house clean, the children happy and well fed, the cupboards full of food, and his laundry clean and folded. You will notice that i am very traditional in my belief that I was created to be Bryce's help meet. I believe God made me to help Bryce achieve his goals, his vision, what he was designed for. Without me he would have the distractions of keeping our home to keep him from these goals, but with me he can move forward and know that our home is under control.
Incredibly enough for me though, I am supported by an amazing man of God who sees these desires of my heart and whole heartedly stands behind them. He is not the type of man to come home and find something i neglected to do, or be jealous of that fact that i was home with the kids while he worked hard. He always finds something wonderful to say, even on days when nothing gets done. He knows that our children are loved and played with, not ignored or sat in front of a TV for hours. Some women have husbands that have different expectations of dinner on the table, the house to be clean, and i am in full support of this relationship as well. Each marriage is different and if Bryce were to require a pristine home, i would find a way to get that done! I do still try my hardest to do the things he doesn't ask, have dinner ready, the house clean, the children happy and well fed, the cupboards full of food, and his laundry clean and folded. You will notice that i am very traditional in my belief that I was created to be Bryce's help meet. I believe God made me to help Bryce achieve his goals, his vision, what he was designed for. Without me he would have the distractions of keeping our home to keep him from these goals, but with me he can move forward and know that our home is under control.
Just in the last year i have really begun to be passionate about homemaking. It is often a thankless, difficult job, but the rewards are unimaginable. It is difficult to be here on days when my children are going through a slight disobedient stage, but I am thrilled that i get to deal with it immediately and not leave it to a day care provider to handle. I am currently enrolled in a distance learning program to become a Holistic Health Practitioner, as one of my goals is to take my kids' care under my own control in that i want to know what other options are available. I want to know if there is a home remedy i can use to cure common childhood problems instead of getting my children over medicated. I do not support vaccinations any longer but have had both of my children vaccinated in the past. I want to be studied up and educated when it comes to health decisions for my girls, and I believe that I am called to do this program to help other mothers with these choices as well. I have very strong opinions, but i also respect each mothers decisions for their individual child.
I hope that you see this blog as encouragement to you, that you are an amazing mother and you're doing a fabulous job! So your house isn't clean, your child will not remember that at the end of the day. I know from experience that what they remember is if you're always unwilling to play so that you can clean. The number one piece of advice i've received from older mothers is to spend less time concerned about your home and more time with your children, because, as everyone will tell you, it goes by way to fast!
I hope that you see this blog as encouragement to you, that you are an amazing mother and you're doing a fabulous job! So your house isn't clean, your child will not remember that at the end of the day. I know from experience that what they remember is if you're always unwilling to play so that you can clean. The number one piece of advice i've received from older mothers is to spend less time concerned about your home and more time with your children, because, as everyone will tell you, it goes by way to fast!
God bless you in your adventure, and i'd be honored if you'd tune in again while i share some of my ideas, and those i've learned from others, to keep your child healthy and happy!
