Collecting Satisfactions

Lily got up from her nap today still very tired. She laid her head on my chest and fell asleep for another half hour. The house was quiet and I was able to just sit and listen to her breath. I can't remember the last time I held her while she slept.

Dog Days

This winter I thought for SURE I'd be outside all day, everyday once it warmed up around here. Well, the warm (HOT) weather has come and some days it's all I can do to make myself take the girls out on the porch to blow bubbles. I do try to take a little walk in the mornings before it gets to warm. Pathetic, I know. Maybe (hopefully) it's just the pregnancy but I can't take the "warmth" for very long at all! The other problems have been the 35 mph winds we typically can have up here and the roaming babies who want to be everywhere they aren't supposed to be. Ok, I think I'm done complaining.

Anyway, I've been having to come up with new ideas to keep little hands busy and crying to "go" (outside) at a minimum. I got out these cute little Nativity figures that a lady made for Phil years ago. They worked for a while but then there was fighting over baby Jesus and a chicken getting pulled apart so they've gone "bye-bye" for now.

I was pretty impressed though when I saw how Lily had arranged the Holy Family etc all around Jesus.
After a lot of crying I broke down and we got outside. I didn't have enough energy for full out pool time so I let girls get wet (and muddy) with a little water, some bowls, spoons and cups, such a good time!

We have one more week before we leave on vacation and really I'm feeling the need to have just that!

The Importance of Being Feminine

It's important to take special care to maintain femininity. Especially in our culture which seems to be doing away with all distinctions of gender. I don't want my girls to ever fall for the lies the world has to offer on this issue. Men and women are different. Women can't do anything a man can do. And this isn't just ok, it's very good. It's God's wonderful design, He has created a divine order whether we like it or not. I want my daughters to like it.

I want them to be certain that God made them little women and to seek to please Him in their "womaness". I want them to enjoy being little girls for as long as they can then become the little ladies, the little women, that God in His goodness has made them. I want them to look forward to the rewards that God gives only to women and may someday give to them; submitting to their husbands, bearing and raising children, taking care of their home by making it a place of love, cleanliness, order, kindness and simple pleasures.

I want them to be feminine in the ways they behave, dress and speak, with modesty and politeness. Even if they grow up only wanting to play baseball, skinning their knees and hating baths, I still expect their character to be of godly ladies.

Of course I know all of this begins with ME! So it is my goal to be more aware of my own gifts of femininity, guard them and demonstrate them to my little ladies. Many of these gifts come so naturally to us women, we don't even think about them but some are so maimed with our sin we can be very careless in neglecting them or even denying them.

There are so many simple things I can do to begin teaching the girls the delights of womanhood. I'll admit some are not so simple, it's not always easy to submit, to "love" being pregnant, enjoy rearing children or keeping a clean home, and everyone at our house knows how much I love frumpy stained t-shirts and sweatpants, but I want to do a better job at emphasizing the joys over the burdens and the beauty over the blah.

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful." 1 Peter 3

Collecting Satisfactions

The girls and I went with Phil to the assisted living center today to attend a service he was leading for the residents there. I was very pleased with how well they behaved during this and it was so sweet to hear Lily say her little "ahh-mean" at the end of the prayers.

A Good Daddy

Enduring

From The Natural Mommy:

The goal should not be merely to survive childhood, but to make the most of it. To train them up in the way they should go while enjoying their presence and trying your best to also make it enjoyable for them.

It’s a test of endurance, raising many small children. Breath in, breath out. Open my eyes. Slow down. But don’t stop. I can do this. With your grace and provision, God, I can do this

Some days certainly feel like I'm just "enduring". There are other days when all but a few moments are just wonderful. Things around the house get done, the girls play nicely together and don't need me every second and it's sunny and warm outside and we can get out to enjoy it. Yesterday was one of these days. So nice after a Monday that seemed endless, when nothing seemed to be right and I was a huge grump. I started the day with some much needed work I finally felt like doing, so I had a clean mopped floor, clean bathrooms, washed diapers and a nice walk in town. After nap time it was finally "hot" enough to get our little pool out. The girls loved it. Then it was over to the garden to watch Phil till and visit with some other young mommies. These are such small pleasures but very real pleasures in my life. I'm so thankful for the "easy" days.

Comment Woes Part III

Making comments on my own blog doesn't always work for me. So here is my response comment to Heidi who was so kind to leave a comment on Preserving The Christian Family III.

Hey Heidi! Stalk away, that's one reason I keep these blogs, for creepy family and friends like you! I forgot that I do or did have this Sing the Faith. I'll have to look for the files since I changed computers I hope I switched them from my old iTunes Library! That would be great to start letting the girls listen to. It would be great for me to listen to to! And I have seen these Follow and Do books but never looked through them for some reason. I've been looking for a good way to teach toddlers the catechism. These sound perfect! Thanks for sharing these resources, I really appreciate it! Hope you are all doing well!

Anyone else interested in these resources they can be found at cph.org.

Follow and Do Set (Set of 6)
Sing the Faith CD

Thanks Heidi!