Family Pictures 2011

Sorry for the recent lack of pictures on the blog. I know most of you probably come on here to see pictures of our adorable children. And believe me, I don't blame you :) So here are some of my favorites from the family pictures we had taken back in October.

Mommy Musings: Extremely hard...but so worth it!

I have a news flash for you. Ready?...Motherhood is hard! I know, you are all shocked, right? But that is something I have continually been learning in the 6+ years I have been a mother. Being a mother has been an emotional roller coaster for me, especially the last year or so. I have two VERY active and VERY energetic children, who keep me constantly thinking to myself "Can I do this? Do I have the energy/patience/willpower to make it to their high school graduations?" And for some reason, the last few months have been particularly difficult. There have been days when I haven't wanted to get out of bed, or I might have put Kayla into quiet time a little extra early so I could have more time to myself, or been grateful that Will is in school the majority of the day. That may make me sound like a bad parent, but it's the truth. But somehow I keep going, mostly because of things like this:


I was having a particularly bad day earlier this week, and I ended up sitting at the table with my head in my hands wondering if I could get through the rest of the day. Unbeknownst to me, Will started drawing a picture. He then comes over and hands it to me. But the kicker was what he said. He said "I drew this to make Mommy happy again." It makes me cry even now just remembering that moment. Bill and I looked at the picture for a minute, then Bill leans over to me and says "We really do have great kids." And I of course knew he was right. So I'm grateful that I now have this tangible reminder that my kids really do love me and that I can do this difficult job called parenting.

Mommy Musings: Tis the Season...To Shop?

I'm not usually the type to get on a soapbox, but I have something on my mind today. I was driving around earlier this morning, listening to a radio station that plays all Christmas music. And after about the third or fourth commercial between songs I realized something: Not one of those commercials focused on the real reason we have Christmas. Each one said something like "Get into the holiday spirit by shopping at our store" or "Come in for our great deals on exactly what they want for Christmas." Now before I start sounding preachy or like I'm condemning everyone for shopping and spending money during the Christmas season, let me clarify. I am not against going out and buying nice things for family and friends. Just yesterday I bought Bill his Christmas present and I spent a little too much time adding things to my Amazon.com wish list. All this post is meant for is to remind us why we have Christmas in the first place. I feel like it would do the world some good to return their focus to Christ and remember the wonderful things He has done for us and what an amazing occasion His birth was. His birth was so ordinary and so simple, yet so profound. Because of Him we have the opportunity to be with our loved ones again and to be cleansed from the sins and the pains that we experience on this earth, which in my opinion is the greatest gift that anyone can give us.

So I hope that, while we are enjoying the beautiful decorations around town or attending a Christmas party, we will remember that our focus should be on this man:

and not this man: