Last week, Luke came home from school with a project they did. I was told ahead of time (by both Luke and a preceding note from his teacher) that it was breakable. My curiosity was piqued, admittedly. I don't know if it was the Christmas season or simply being a mommy, but I honestly teared up when I saw it. It is a plate with his handprint made into a simple "Jesus in a manger" scene. To say, "I love it," would be a serious understatement!
Yesterday, I surprised our little family with a cake -- a tradition I started a year ago (and I know many of you do this as well). I'm *relatively* certain all had forgotten about this in our household -- which actually made it a true surprise again -- Ha! Anyways, it was a birthday cake to celebrate Jesus' birthday...
Today, Marc is putting in a few extra hours at the running store (his little side job)...the kiddos & I were supposed to go to my parents' to make Christmas cookies with my mom. My dad called this morning, saying we needed to postpone the cookie making because my mom wasn't feeling well! So, the kids & I are hanging out here at home while Marc is working.
I needed to run a few errands (read: get out of the house). I ended up surprising the kids with lunch at "Subway". Kate had brought along her little purse with a tiny little doll blanket stuffed inside. I was smiling my way inside because I thought it was so stinkin' cute that our little girl was carrying a purse (read: imitating her mommy). After I took the following pic, I realized she not only had a doll blanket but also puzzle pieces that may or may not have spilled out everywhere at "Subway". Pure awesomeness.
I learned something from this next *honest,* *this is life* photo.
While I think we have pretty good kids, I'm well aware they're not perfect. (If you think I'm being proud and lacking humility, ask me personally to share our "keepin' it real" moments).
But, today in "Subway," a fellow Mama (whom I didn't know) came over to me and said, "Your children are really being cute & sweet to each other . Awesome. Talk about encouragement from a fellow Mama!
Parenting is hard. That's no secret. Encouragement to fellow Mamas is pretty terrific. So, what I learned from that moment is that I need to be more of an encourager like that to other Mamas -- whether I know them or not. In my little world, not too many days go by where I don't come into contact with a fellow Mama!
Late last week, I was discouraged as a mother over one little incident in which, about 24 hours later, realized I was foolish for being so discouraged. We're all human, and our kids are also human. None of us is perfect. And, that lack of perfection is *exactly* why God has given us the greatest gift: His Son, Jesus, whose birth we are celebrating in 2 days!
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