Mothering the Little Years

Growing Little Gardeners

May 18, 2012

“Why try to explain miracles to your kids,” asks Robert Brault, “when you can just have them plant a garden?”

Planting tiny seeds, then waiting and watching as they sprout into fruitful plants, really is like watching many mini-miracles blossom. This is the main reason I love to garden with my children. Gardening makes us stand in awe again and again of God’s amazing creation.

photo credit

There are many other reasons to garden together.

Follow me on over to The Purposeful Mom to read the rest. This post is part of her “Spring into Summer” Series. Be sure to check out the rest of the posts for summery fun!

Before I Was a Mom

May 11, 2012

Before I was a mom, a clean home seemed reasonable.

Before I was a mom, I thought there was only one right method for most mommy dilemmas.

Before I was a mom, I didn’t realize that closing the bathroom door is a universal cue for children to need you.

Before I was a mom, I thought I had mastered patience.

Before I was a mom, a “quick errand” really was quick.

Before I was a mom, I didn’t appreciate my own mom nearly enough.

Before I was a mom, the phrase “sleeping like a baby” made sense.

Before I was a mom, I didn’t realize that sometimes all the parenting advice will fail and only prayer will work.

Before I was a mom, I thought my parents exaggerated when they said “enjoy every moment, because before you know it your kids will be grown.” Now, I believe it.

Before I was a mom, I never thought I could read Dr. Seuss so many times without losing my sanity.

Before I was a mom, I didn’t know that getting three children to nap simultaneously deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.

Before I was a mom, I didn’t realize how much more precious chubby, sticky fingers are than a mountain of diamonds.

Linked up at Handful of Heart, Encourage One Another, Homemaking Linkup, Women Living Well, Hearts 4 Home Thursdays, Proverbs 31 Thursday, Consider the Lilies & Finer Things Friday

Tagged with: holidays • matters of the heart • toddlerhood

Perspective and a Bug’s Life

May 2, 2012

Twenty years from now, when my children are grown and I am consistently getting a full night’s sleep, I’m sure I’ll laugh to look back and see how often sleep (or lack of sleep!) seemed worthy of a blog post.

But, my kids aren’t grown and sleep still seems blog-worthy. Which means sleep will, once again, be the springboard for today’s post.

photo credit

Will skipped his nap most of last week but yesterday morning, he woke up bright and early. And tired. It was clear he would need (and take) a nap.

I greatly looked forward to a bit of quiet while the children napped.

But, just as I laid Will down for his nap, Meg (who shares a room with the big kids now) woke up extra early. I spent the next hour fruitlessly trying to get her back to sleep. Finally, I gave up.

I was frustrated. Really frustrated. My well-laid plans had been spoiled by events that really weren’t in my hands. My expectations were not filled. Now I didn’t get to enjoy that much-anticipated quiet that I thought I needed.

Though I knew it was silly (and sinful) to be upset over something so trivial, I kept struggling with anger.

Then I walked into the kitchen. Earlier, I had captured a bee-like insect in the bottom of a glass. Now it was on its back, struggling for air.

As the insect fought for life, I stood and watched him for a minute.

And it struck me just how small I am. The world does not revolve around me and my little needs and wants. Though a human’s lifespan is (thankfully) longer than an insects, it is still “like a vapor.” In the vast view of things, my life makes up about as much of the story as that little bug.

But, the glorious part is that, despite our smallness, we are not “like flies to wanton boys.” God Himself, in human flesh, laid down His life to save us!

With those thoughts in mind, it was hard to be upset about not getting a nap.

[Oh, and as a "thank you" to the bug for my attitude adjustment, he is now at loose in the great outdoors.]

Linked up at Encourage One Another, Homemaking Linkup, Women Living Well, Hearts 4 Home Thursdays, Proverbs 31 Thursday & Finer Things Friday

Tagged with: contentment • laughing at life • matters of the heart • sleep

Musings on Beds, Sleep and God’s Wakefulness

April 9, 2012

With each new child, the speed of life seems to pick up a notch. Several weekends ago we moved baby Meg out of our room into the kid’s room. Mentally, the transition made her seem even more grown up.

It was kind of sad. Our baby is less of a “baby” each day! (I wish I could “push pause” indefinitely!)

Rose and Will absolutely love having her in their room though! Last summer when were contemplating whether or not we should stay in our small home another year, one of my main questions was “how are we going to fit another bed into the kid’s room?”

My four-year-old solved the dilemma: Will could move into her bed, and she would sleep on the floor!

Rose anticipated the move for months. Now she happily sleeps on a mattress that slides under her old bed in the morning (or serves as a tent, house or barn.)

Three weeks later, the novelty of getting to sleep on the floor has still not worn off. The other day she told Will in a very grown-up sounding voice, “Someday Will, when you’re big like me, you can sleep on the floor too!”

How can you help loving little ones?

Meg seems to like her new bed too!

Meg usually sleeps well, but she still occasionally gets up in the night. Now that she’s farther away, her fussing takes a bit longer to rouse me from a deep sleep.

Last night I was up multiple times. The final time, Meg’s fussing mixed into my dream. A few minutes passed and the intensity of fussing gradually increased. Finally, my foggy brain slipped out of dreamland. I walked groggily into the kid’s room to rescue her.

As my mind became more conscious, the sweetness of God’s sleeplessness stood out to me.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
²My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

³He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep”

Psalm 121:1-4 ESV

Our God never sleeps. We don’t have to wait for grogginess to clear before He can hear our prayers. Our glorious, risen Redeemer is alive and awake.

Linked up at Titus 2sdays, Teach Me Tuesdays , Thankful Homemaker, Encourage One Another, Raising Mighty Arrows & Women Living Well Wednesdays

Tagged with: childhood innocence • contentment • matters of the heart • toddlerhood

Five More Favorite Read-a-Louds

March 19, 2012

I have been trying to be more intentional about reading daily to the kiddos.

Simply wanting to read isn’t enough though, as Amy pointed out in her excellent ebook Tell Your Time. You have to budget time for it and work it into your daily routine!

Our lunch routine helps ensure we read a chapter or two from our current chapter book (we’re reading Charlotte’s Web at the moment and loving it!)

After baby’s morning nap is storybook time. I shared a few of our favorite picture books before, but here are five more read-alouds have read over and over and over again (and have’t tired of yet!)

When Jessie Came Across the Sea: “Mama, with you read to me?” Rose asked. “I picked your favorite book!” She was referring to this one!

This beautifully illustrated book gives a touching glimpse into the life of a poor, hardworking Jewish immigrant in the late 1800s.

Young, orphaned Jessie (13) is given the chance of a lifetime: to go to America to work with a widowed seamstress. But it means leaving behind her beloved Grandmother.

Enduring love and years of hard work bring the book to a sweet and happy ending. The trials Jesse faces open the door to wonderful conversations about history, immigration, poverty, hard work… and just how blessed we are!

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons: This book teaches vocabulary through bite-sized cookie examples. For example,

“Pessimistic means: How awful, how absolutely dreadful–I have only have my cookie left.”

“Optimistic means: This is great— I still have half my cookie left.”

Seeing the meaning of words like ‘greedy’ or ‘content’ played out through the beautiful illustrations has solidified the meaning for my children.

The Seven Silly Eaters:

A tale of seven very picky children in hilariously rhyming couplets. Each child in the Peters family has one, and only one, food they will eat. The poor frazzled mother spends her days trying to keep up with their demands.

“Creamy oatmeal, pots of it!
Homemade bread and lots of it!
Peeling apples by the peck,
Mrs. Peters was a wreck.”

A surprising twist solves her dilemma.

Dear friends gave us this book after Meg was born and we’ve read it dozens of times already. It is one of my children’s absolute favorites. (One caveat though, if you have picky eaters, I wouldn’t recommend the book. It may not help the problem!)

The Bear That Heard Crying:Set in the 1780′s, this book tells the true story of a three-year-old girl who got lost in the woods for four days.

God sent a bear to guard her (and a dream to find her)! The bear found her, watched over her and kept her warm until she was finally rescued.

Like When Jessie Came Across the Sea, this book gives a peak into a bygone era. It also opens up the door for discussions of miracles, God’s goodness, obedience, and life long ago.

Just Me and My Little Brother: Joshua grew up with the Little Critter books and introduced our children to them. I tend to like real life books best of all, but the kiddos love these! The stories are simple and told from the perspective of a little one. This one is about all the things Little Critter and his brother are going to do someday… “but first he needs to learn to walk.”

What are your favorite read-a-louds?

Linked up at Handful of Heart, Better Mom, Raising Arrows, Motivated Monday & Teach Me Tuesdays

(Full Disclosure: Links to products in this post are my referral links)

Tagged with: book review • read-a-louds • toddlerhood