Motherhood as a Mission Field

From a friends blog:

{At the very heart of the gospel is sacrifice, and there is perhaps no occupation in the world so intrinsically sacrificial as motherhood. Motherhood is a wonderful opportunity to live in the gospel. Jim Elliott said, "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Motherhood provides you with an opportunity to lay down the things that you cannot keep on behalf of the people you cannot lose. They are eternal souls, they are your children, they are your mission field.}


What a crazy few weeks its been...preschool ended & we bought a minivan, a week of sick kiddos & packing for the beach, a week of vacation, a week of bible school & birthday parties, a week of swim lessons, a week of catching up, another week of swim lessons and then our much anticipated trip to Roanoke for the 4th and Carolines birthday celebration. Whew...that is exhausting just reading the words much less living it!

This is our season-busy & messy- but we will embrace it and enjoy these precious moments with the sweet gifts God has given us to raise and watch grow.

We are reading Grace Based Parenting and it is WONDERFUL! So intriguing and eye opening and I love reading to see what possibilities lie ahead for our children and family. We can strive to be that Grace Based Family that is a 'breathe of fresh air' but its a process, not an event and the scripture says, "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). We want to build strong children with high standards who feel a sense of security, significance and strength through love, purpose and hope.

But then the reality of everyday hits....early risers, breakfast spilt on the floor, poop, someone woken up from her nap, fighting over toys, bills, lunchtime madness, more poop, errands, laundry, more bills, dinner prep, more laundry, a dog, daddy getting home-yay!!, dinner time craziness, more poop, commitments outside the home, yard work, maintaining friendships, more laundry, dirty commodes, something thrown into the commode, baby crawling EVERYWHERE-discovering small things on the floor & the stairs, a 3 year old getting jealous of toys, time, attention and wanting it all right NOW, somewhere in the mix- a marriage that is strong and constant but at the same time trying to survive on low fuel....and then a family who is blessed beyond words but wanting to be stronger, healthier, & more rich (spiritually, emotionally and financially).

So here we are on our mission field...the daily task of keeping these littles fed, clothed, safe, comforted, loved at the same time enriching them to do God's word, become wonderful servants of the Lord and be still to hear God's plan and direction for their life. One step at a time I hope we create a solid foundation for growing morally strong and spiritually motivated children.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

Butterfly & Ladybug

love their new chairs!

my ladybug

my butterfly

watching a movie together

Gym Bugs with the gang

girls girls girls

Our friends lost power after a storm last week so they came to play for 2 days while they waited to get their power back! The girls loved having Harper here and of course the house was even more livelier with another girl!

Its the little things

Capri Suns
Straws

Cookies

Southern Living & the cell phone

Doing a little magazine reading

Doing a little cell talking

Kindermusik Jammie Jam

Happy Fathers Day!!

The GREATEST gift I ever had came from GOD; I call him DAD! ~Author Unknown

Up, up, down

Making great efforts to stand up...
and we're back down!

The Claire & Caroline Show

this is one of my favorites...this is my life :) insane!!
thinking about the next move

always looking for something to be her drum

always talking on a phone

Caroline-"How did she do that? How am I going to get this thing to stay on my head?"

Never a dull moment and what one doesnt think of-the other does :) But wouldnt trade one second of it!

Morning at the Pool

Swimming with one of our favorite families-The Beesleys
Emma, Ben, Claire, Drew and Caroline

A little picnic lunch

Caroline and the boys

11 months old

On the move, into everything and curious, curious, curious!

Just finished pulling all the DVD's out of the cabinet
Now what can I get into?

So sweet and innocent!

Everything is a drum!

Ummm, what's in here?!

Not doing anything mommy, promise!

On to the kitchen to cook.

Might need sisters help in here!

So sweet, cute and a firecracker! Not much baby left...a curious toddler has come into our house! She has her crawl down pat and move in seconds flat. She pulls up on her knees but not her feet yet. Loves to say ball, duck, quack quack, dog and of course still momma, dada and her own little form of Claire.

I have forgotten baby proofing issues, but have been quickly reminded in the last couple of weeks:

~trash cans

~the toilet

~shoes-LOVES to chew on them

~cords, outlets, buttons

~crumbs, dirt-anything on the floor-straight to the mouth

~hair-pulling is her favorite thing

~Gabby-she is truly a gentle saint

~loves mommys bathroom cabinet just like her sister does!

~small toys-poor Claire has a -"nope Caroline can choke on that" bucket for bite size toys

~dogs water bowl

Cant believe we celebrate her first birthday in a month-what a great year it has been! A true joy and ray of happiness for our family!