Posted in Family Life

One Mother of Boys Tells Her Story

When I was expecting my first child, I was sure I was having a girl. Thirteen years ago, it wasn’t as common for people to find out the gender of the baby, so we did not know what we were having before the birth.  It was truly a surprise when our firstborn child was a son.  It was an even bigger surprise when he didn’t want to sleep and he was fussy and needed almost constant stimulation to keep him contented.  As he grew into toddler age (which began at ten months old when he learned to—not walk—run), I continued to be confused about the best way to handle this very energetic little person.  Training and discipline were constant in those days.  I was exhausted all the time in those early years.  By the time he hit five or six years old, however, I began to see glimpses of hope that all the time invested in training was starting to bear a bit of fruit.  He began displaying some signs of self-control and was able to sit quietly for increasingly longer periods.  It was such a relief to my inexperienced mother’s heart to see that maybe it really was possible to get through to this little guy.  At thirteen, he is now becoming a young man who would make any mother proud.  He is intelligent, visionary, artistic, well-read and articulate.  The training, teaching, discipline and guidance have not stopped, though the fruit shows a little sooner these days and I can now see proof that it is worth the investment of time, struggles, and tears.  Most importantly, he wants to love, serve, and honor God with his life.  We’re not there yet, but we’re headed in the right direction.  This young man is going to make a difference for Christ's Kingdom.

My second son is the opposite of his brother in personality.  As a baby, he was laid back and content.  I found it easy to keep him happy and occupied.  He was an active toddler, but not to the same frenzied extent as his brother.  As he grew, I began to realize that it wasn’t me.  I wasn’t doing a horrible job and maybe I wouldn’t even ruin my children’s lives as a result of them being more than I could handle.  However, son number two was definitely all boy.  He just approached it in a different way.  My favorite picture of him from his babyhood is from the time he got into the pantry cabinet.  There he was, a silly grin on his face as he sat in the midst of an entire box of cornmeal, as well as some flour, sugar, and whatever else he had happened to come across in his quest to conquer the uncharted territory (the pantry) before him.  Years later, he is now a boy who thrives on work.  But he is not content to do just any kind of work—he wants to do real work that has a real purpose.  At nine years old, he can work as hard and as long as many men.

My newest little man is now a twenty month old ball of fire.  Nothing stands in this boy’s way.  He sees any challenge, whether it be scaling the back of the couch or building a tower of blocks, and will not stop until he reaches its successful completion.  He is a world-class climber who learned how to get up onto the kitchen counter at nine months old.  At this point, the entire family has been trained to never leave a cup of liquid or a pen anywhere on any surface in any room of the house.  I now find myself in that familiar place of exhaustion I had when my first son was little, but now I know these days will pass all too quickly.  I am also much more confident in my mothering skills and since I haven’t ruined any of my other children yet, this one will likely be okay too.  If I could only teach him not to sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” at the top of his lungs in the middle of a church service….

My boys are a source of joy and hope and I absolutely love being their mother.  I can’t think of a better way to spend my days than trying to keep up with them.

This post is part two in my series on the adventure of raising boys.

Posted in Family Life

As the mother of three very normal boys, I have learned a few things about the wonderful adventure of raising sons.  I often tell people that there is never a dull moment at our house.  The unexpected nature with which boys often react to life’s situations makes it impossible to anticipate at any given moment what will happen next.  My sons, being the very boyish boys that they are, often do things that baffle and perplex their very female mother and sisters.  Frankly, as a mother it can be frustrating at times to know how to respond to certain boyish tendencies.  Their God-given hunger for adventure and their enthusiasm and energy (which can be very useful when channeled properly) can cause a momma to shake her head, shrug her shoulders, or let out a momentary yelp of exasperation.  Even so, I wouldn’t have them any other way.

Each time my boys climb a tree or dismantle a toy or even chase each other through the house with wooden swords, they are honing their skills for someday fulfilling their God-given mandate to take dominion on the earth.  The seemingly excess energy little boys possess does serve an important purpose.  It is an essential aspect of what will make them men.  I have learned over the past thirteen years that it is important for a mother of boys to come up with creative ways with which to harness that energy and cannel it in constructive ways.  Keeping boys busy with worthwhile projects is the key to keeping them out of trouble.    Giving boys something to keep their attention and capture their imagination can be useful in developing in them important skills they will need as men someday.

I love being the mother of boys.  There is so much enjoyment in watching them grow into the men God designed them to be.  They are funny, interesting, capable, confident, excited people who are truly fun to be around and definitely worth getting to know.  Yes, life can be chaotic and noisy.  Boys tend to be disruptive and even destructive at times.  But the benefits far outweigh the trials.  The amazing privilege of working with the Lord to raise tomorrow’s leaders makes it worth all the hassles and headaches.  When I am especially frustrated, I like to stop and picture what my boys will be like ten or twenty years from now.  I like to look down the corridor of time to when they have become husbands, fathers, church leaders, statesmen, craftsmen, and whatever else the Lord may have in store for their lives.  I try to picture the fruit that will come from all the cultivating I am doing each day as my husband and I work to lay foundations and develop their character.  Keeping the long range goal in mind gives me the strength and determination I need to continue in this good work the Lord has set before me; remembering that vision preserves me from becoming weary in well-doing.

Raising sons is an adventure, but it is also an incredible privilege and one of the most important things I could ever attempt to do with my life.

This is the first in a series of posts I plan to share about the things I have learned on the wonderful journey of raising boys

Posted in Family Life

At the Paul Revere Statue

In front of the Old North Church

Overlooking Boston Harbor from the captain's quarters of the USS Constitution

Hanging out by the big guns on "Old Ironsides"

Little girl on a big old ship

Posted in Family Life

Final preparations are made and we are ready to head to Boston.  Here's a sneak peek at the children's costumes for Vision Forum's Reformation 500:

This trip has been much anticipated by our family for quite some time.  If I weren't so exhausted from all the sewing, cleaning, and packing I've been doing the last week, I might be too excited to sleep.  I am planning to bring my laptop along and share highlights of the trip, so stay tuned!

Look out Boston, here we come!

Posted in Family Life

My children surprise me at times.  They are busy, active little people and, even though it has been raining constantly for what seems like weeks, they have kept themselves occupied with useful projects and activities.  Since we finished our schoolwork for the year all of them have been reading, helping prepare costumes for the Reformation 500, diligently keeping up with chores, and generally staying busy and out of trouble (for the most part).  It was a blessing to see them take the initiative to stay busy themselves.

While they have been keeping busy, we were all beginning to feel cooped up, so it was with a very thankful heart that I awoke to a beautiful, sunshiny day this morning.   What a relief!

My daughter still took a few quiet moments this morning to practice her new reading skills with her old friend Peter Rabbit:

A sweet moment indeed.

Posted in Family Life

...Just very busy these days.

"Official" schoolwork is finished for the year.  We will be doing plenty of hands-on learning this summer, though, as we now are the proud owners of two (soon to be four) dairy goats, in addition to the laying hens and broiler (meat) chickens we are raising.  We have planted our garden and my husband has already begun to get in firewood for next winter (ugh).  All of this has kept us hopping!  We are having a lot of fun, and it has been a wonderful opportunity for learning.

As I have mentioned to several people recently, I would not have believed five or six years ago that I would one day be excited about moving toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle.  I was as dependent on modern society as the next gal.  I also loved my highly processed convenience foods, chemical-laden cleaning agents, and high-tech beauty products.  Don't get me wrong--there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these things (other than the negative effects on one's health)  However, over the past few years, as my husband and I have moved further and further away from dependence on these things, I have come to realize how much better the "real thing" really is, be it garden-fresh produce or homemade cleaning and beauty products.  I love the feeling of freedom I have in knowing that right here, in my very own backyard, my family can grow our own food.  In my kitchen, I can create my own soap and shampoo.  Simple, safe cleaning supplies can be stirred up (by me--or even my children) at my kitchen sink.  A solar-powered clothes dryer (clothesline) leaves our clothes so much fresher and uses only free energy from the wind and sun.

All of our recent agricultural pursuits have given me a sense of confidence I've never had before.  I never would have believed I could actually make butter or cheese or yogurt.  And yet--I've found that I can!  I really can milk a goat every morning.  I can grow beautiful tomatoes and sunflowers.  I have found that, working at my husband's side, we can do so many things for ourselves, things like making apple cider and maple syrup, putting up fencing and building a barn.  Not only does it give confidence, but it gives my children skills they can take with them throughout their lives.

Living the simple life is a lot of hard work, but hard work is good when it is honest, when it brings us closer to God's amazing creation, and when it yields rewards which can enrich our lives and bring us health, vitality, and joy.