Signing Off

The main reason I have continued to blog is because every year I print our blog off as a family photobook/journal.  It is my version of scrapbooking or photo albums.  These albums are some of my most treasured material possessions.  However there  is still a lot of reformatting that has to be done when transferring the blog to book which requires endless hours of work so I have decided to just make the books from scratch rather than from the blog.  That means my primary reason for blogging is gone.  What that means for my future blogging I'm not sure- will I quit altogether, just blog a lot less or in less detail?  All I know is lately I've been strongly convicted of wasting precious time with my babes especially while they are little and I would rather spend my time living life than documenting life so this may be the end for me and blogger or it may just mean we see each other less often or this may just be a season where I take a break and eventually pick back up but for now I feel something has to change.

For All You Moms Out There

excerpt from Out Of The Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load Prologue A (Fairly Lame) Ode to Mothers An ode to the marvelous woman called “Mother” Though not one of us is exactly like another. From the second we’re born to the minute we die Our preferences are as limitless as stars in the sky. We might have been perfectly gracious before But childbirth entered us in the Mommy War. Rather than letting everyone else be We criticize parenting that isn’t exactly like . . . me. So once and for all let me put this to rest None of us owns the title of “best.” Natural childbirth does not make you a hippy Epidurals are not just for women who want to feel trippy. In a bathtub with a doula or in a hospital bed We all got a baby with limbs and a head. Nursing is great if nothing goes wrong But some nipples turn inward and refuse to play along. This is a choice for each mom–it’s her route So it’s just A + B and everyone else can C their way out. Schedules and timers do not make you cruel Feeding on demand does not make you a fool. In the nursery with a monitor or in the family bed Every chick gets to pick where her baby lays his head. If I see one more mom roll her eyes at “organic . . .” “Partially hydrogenated” throws some of us into panic. But neither judge Sonic burgers and fries Some of us just want to enjoy food before we die. Preschool, home school, public, or Montessori Listen, my friends, and I’ll tell you a story: Two moms differed on favorite school trends Their kids turned out pretty much the same. The end. If a girl gets the title of “mom” accidentally The worst thing we can do is treat her judgmentally. How about some love, some help, some advice? She needs our love and we shouldn’t think twice. Discipline through various methods will prevail Look, we’re all just trying to keep our kids out of jail. These things are just preferences, not right or wrong What matters more is teaching our kids to get along– To love and to share, to speak gently and kind, To obey so that mom won’t go out of her mind. Showing them Jesus is our common ground Teaching them how he can always be found. He’s present in public school and Waldorf (so trendy) He’s over at Whole Foods but also at Wendy’s. Jesus never cared about these sorts of things It’s our hearts that he wants and the worship we bring. It’s time for us moms to declare a truce Regardless if we buy Capri Sun or 100 percent juice. My way is not your way, and your way isn’t mine But both of our kids will turn out just fine. Rather than judging and looking down our noses Let’s enjoy the common ground motherhood poses. As believers, we all love the same good Lord We all have children who tell us “I’m bored.” We all need more sleep than these tiny five hours Most of us struggle to find time for a shower. We haven’t been to the bathroom alone in an age Our mothers have all told us, “Relax, this is just a stage.” We all love our babies so much we could die We’d take a bullet for each one without batting an eye. Though we are different, we’re in the same tribe Motherhood requires a similar vibe– Love and affection, sacrifice and grace Laughter, which keeps the whole mechanism in place. Though different, by the grace of God, I suspect: ALL our children will rise up and call us ... collect. She looks well to how things go in her household. ... Her children rise up and call her blessed. Proverbs 31:27—28 AMP