Praising!

Wordless on Wednesday?

Well not really. All over Bloggy Land you can find such posts.  Today I wanted to share how Bear is in the Natural world.  the smile and song are easily seen.  She finds reasons to praise in the urban nature space we have shown her these past few weeks.  Little spots of green escapes right within the city boundaries. 

Not even the rain could keep her joy at bay!

We look forward to exploring even more!

Rejoice and praise, for today is the day that the Lord has made!

Raining buckets

and not just the wet stuff outside!  Its been a hard move and adjustment for our family.  Add on top of it Bear, Grammie, and myself catching a cold that wont go away.  In addition, its been an adjustment having Grammie with us and incorporating other peoples schedule and lives into ours.  Everyone has been going through some growing and adjusting. 

While I haven't meant to neglect the blog, it has, through necessity I suppose, been one of the things that has fallen by the way side as we adjust our lives.  But, I AM BACK... for now.  *smile*

UPDATE:

I recently started being a Usborne Book Consultant.  Not pushing or anything but if you want to check out their awesome books and need a consultant please use me....  here is a link to my shop (https://y3391.myubam.com/)  Yes, I do get a commission or percentage of any books bought.  And in no way is Usborne books responsible for any of the content on my blog.  There, all the legal stuff taken care of.... 

They are really great books though and a wonderful organization.  Bear's first book she ever had was "That's Not My Puppy" and while I think we donated it during our recent move, it was still a favorite.  Their books span several years, and they really are geared for the while child. 

We've been through some bumps at home and our school schedule still isn't where I would like it.  Mostly because we need to work in the lives of everyone involved and I need to make sure that everyone sees it as the priority that it is.  Including Bear.  She is pretty upset with me most days for writing and reading and the day goes down hill from there.  She does well, and then she will have a bad day and it sets her back several days.  But we are starting with an, YOU GUESSED IT, Usborne book that is clearly written with phonics in mind and has taken into account how children work (Ted and Friends).  The first few days were tough with me pushing on, but I am hoping it goes forward a bit more smoothly.  We will not be taking a Christmas Break.  *Sigh*

How has your December been? 

Fulfilled?

As I go forward on the quest for my "Mother Culture Sweet Spot" I am forced to examine a few things.  One of those things is "how do I take care of me?" 

BAM!  There it is.  Out in the open for all eyes to see.  The $100 question.  one of the most controversial topics there is in Mommyland. 

Ok, a little ranting on my part.....

We see mothers, as a society, as women who never think of themselves.  We see Motherhood as a "lot in life"....  Yes, we do; and we approach it far to often with an air of foreboding.  What we look forward to with anticipation and excitement when we first discover we are pregnant quickly turns to the idea that a little being has now attached itself to us and robbed us of our freedom along with draining us of all individuality. 

Oh Motherhood.... you dreadful lot in life...  Or at least society wants us to view motherhood as losing freedom, personhood, and individuality.  Motherhood is viewed as the end of a road and never would we tell a young girl it was a vocation she could do if she wanted.  When was the last time a highschool guidance counselor said a girl could be housewife and mother if she wanted to be?   Hang on....  we tell the young girl that she may will be a mommy one day, but we don't consider motherhood a viable "vocation."  We tell our daughters that they can be a mom AND something else... anything else but JUST A MOM. 

Does Motherhood rob the woman's soul?  Nope, and the mother that allows this to happen is doing a grave disservice to her family and herself.  The woman that looks upon her children as robbing her soul is a shell of a woman because she isn't allowing herself the room to find the joy in the "Mother Culture" that exists for each of us.

Society says that to gain control of her mind the mom needs to work; that a real woman must work to find fulfillment.  Lets look at this with open eyes..... 

Up at 6 am (or 4:30 am if you do shift work like I use to), rushing around, maybe bundling a baby or toddler up in blankets and rushing out into the frigid air to start the cold car (maybe scraping windows or removing snow).  Then you find yourself driving to a daycare or grandparents house and depositing the child.  While rushing back to the car you are surrounded by screams of "Mommy" and teary eyes haunt the rest of your drive to work.

At work you might face, if you're lucky, a pot of coffee you didn't have to make yourself.  Maybe you have meetings to attend, letters to write, reports to generate, or maybe you have angry patients or customers ready to scream at you for problems you didn't create.  Yes, this feels like fulfillment....  If you do make a mistake someone is real quick to tell you.  Unlike your child who might say in a sweet innocent voice, "Oh well, accidents happen" you can listen, in your fulfilled woman way, to a LOUD boss bark and threaten your livelihood, or worse pass judgment and make innuendos about your inability to do what they want.  I mean, you read minds ... right?  In threatening that, not only are they attacking your job performance, but they are tearing down your sense of self.  Trust me, I know.  I was a full time working wife and mom.  (I could be again if God deemed it so I am not trying to be holier than thou.)  This is the face of the fulfilled mom...

Yeah, fulfilled.  The only way a woman can be fulfilled is to work and satisfy her need for intellectual stimulation outside the home.  She MUST only be stimulated intellectually by other grownups and working 8-12 hours a day...... She must only find fulfillment when working for someone else.  If a woman says she is fulfilled and loves being a wife and mom she is deemed dimwitted and socially inept.  Yep.....  I know its true.  I was there once.

Oh how wrong this is.  How degrading such thoughts are to "Mothers" and the culture of motherhood.  Why do we wonder at how we have lost the concept of the "Mother Culture" when faced with this? 

Thus, in the midst of this search for my "Mother Culture Sweet Spot" I am examining how I take care of myself so that I might be a better wife and mom.  How do I take care of me?  Being a good wife and mom doesn't not mean neglecting yourself.  You need to take care of yourself so that you continuing to be inspired.  Maybe you get inspired from reading a good book, or gardening?  Do it!  Maybe you are able to relax and refocus when you are painting or drawing during a quiet time.  Do it!

The first step we are going to undertake is taking a Sabbath day.  Sabbath was made for mankind.  God gave us the Sabbath day of rest so that we could relax, refocus, and reenergize. 

I am at fault.  I see a day off as a day to get caught up on blogging, sewing, cleaning, preparing for the week ahead...  How is the Sabbath a day of rest and calming a day of peace when I am busy trying to get caught up?  This is the first step we are taking as a family.  We might hike, explore, read, relax, putter doing something we enjoy, but it will be about rejuvenating our hearts and souls so that we can focus on God, family, and being better people.  It will not be about getting caught up.

When I take care of me, I will begin to find that path toward my "Mother Culture Sweet Spot." 

I plan to read for pleasure.  Besides my Bible, I want to have 2 or 3 books beside my bed.  Each evening I can read the one I feel like reading that evening, but getting back to reading for pleasure is a must. 

We already try to do 20-30 minutes of quiet time each day, and we will continue that.  I also want to continue to use 30 minutes or so early in the morning for me to have time reading my Bible and thinking about my day.  This means getting up early, but its a nice habit that I have missed being able to do. 

So here I am heading down a road that hasn't been traveled in a while;  this road to the "Mother Culture" and finding my sweet spot is important for each mother.  Maybe you work, maybe you don't...  regardless you can find your "Mother Culture Sweet Spot."  I hope that you enjoy traveling this road with me.   

A Generation Lost

I have a challenge I want to present you with... 

 

 

We are a generation who has lost its way.  We grapple with how we can reconnect, while leashed to our cell phones, lap tops, reality TV, and tablets.  We are a generation lost....

 

At one time, back when we all lived in rural towns, and looked out for each other, lived in the same place for our whole life, we had a simpler life.  We had less, but we had more.  Its kind of strange, you know?  Today we have so much, yet have lost contact with each other.  We need to return to some of the old-fashioned ways of our grandparents and find ourselves again.   Lets go down this path that is overgrown but ripe with hope.  Lets sit on our front porch, lay a blanket in the grass and enjoy the fresh air and reconnect.  Somewhere along the way we will find out what we have been missing as we bustle and hustle to and fro.  We will teach our children that we value them and our fellow mankind as we take the time to actually talk with our neighbors. 

 

I am challenging you to join me in reconnecting;  I challenge you to reconnect and find out what you have lost in a quest to be busy.  Put down the phone, turn off the computer, and pick up a glass of lemonade.  Encourage your neighbors to join you, as you forge ahead perhaps others will yearn to reconnect in real life as well.  

 

Lets take back our front porch, finding our selves in the process.  We can stop this cycle.

 



Intoxicated on Life: Navigating the Booby Trap

Today I have a guest post on Intoxicated on Life.  Trisha has a series of guest posts highlighting moms and breastfeeding.  If you’re a breastfeeding mother or soon to be mother this series is for you! Navigating the Booby Trap is a series by experienced moms looking to pass their breastfeeding tips and wisdom on to you.  I share my story about attempting to breastfeed Bear.  Please visit the link here and read our story and how we accepted what God's plan was for us.

I began nursing immediately upon my daughter’s birth. It was such natural thing; mother and daughter continuing their attachment after birth. She was born at 7:15 am and we all thought everything was progressing naturally and without incident.

The first night was horrible though. My wee babe refused to sleep and wanted to feed constantly and when I asked the nurse I was assured her latch was good and she was “cluster feeding.”..... (Read more...)