Aug. 28, 2007 - 100 Things I Love About Mothering My Children
100 Things I Love About Mothering My Children
Sunday, the children asked for fajitas for lunch, and my little four year old said, "Yes, and then we can have a fajita party, right Daddy?" So we did! It just doesn't get any better then that. What is a fajita party you might ask? Well, for us it involved putting all the fixings on the table so that even the little ones could "make their own" while we all listened to Mexican guitar music, and talked in our limited Spanish phrases. Oh, and we made some homemade Guacamole too. Seeing as how this is my 100th post; I wanted to do something really special. So I decided to write a list of 100 things I love about mothering my children. Being a mom can be really hard! I started this list after a rather frustrating evening, it is very encouraging to remember all the wonderful parts of motherhood after a long day! I hope it will encourage you as well... If you are going to join the fun, please leave a comment here and link back to me so that we can read each other's posts.
1. I love Baby singing! The first time they try to join in on a song -- that is so precious!
2. I love baking cookies with my little girl because she *loves* baking cookies. It is so fun to see her joy.
3. I love watching their eyes light up when they figure out something new!
4. I love hearing Opera music coming from the mouth of an eight year old girl.
5. I love hugs.
6. I love baby's first kisses.
7. I love chubby hands pressing my cheek for a kiss or rubbing noses. 8. I love listening to made up stories about robots and dinosaur wars. 9. I love cuddling on the couch with a good book.
10. I love answering questions about God.
11. I love treating my children with special moments like hikes, picnics, last minute get togethers with friends or fajita parties.
12. I love painting toenails on six feet.
13. I love answering questions about life.
14. I love getting e-mails from my kids.
15. I love real conversations with my children.
16. I love dressing dolls in fancy clothes.
17. I love long walks in the woods with children because they are in awe of every new thing they see.
18. I love that clean baby smell.
19. I love that moment when potty training is finally over.
20. I love making rice crispy treats and letting the helper lick the spoon. 21. I love watching my children sleep.
22. I love teaching new things, like how to cut your own meat with a dinner knife.
23. I love watching them exceed my expectations time and again! Did you know that a six year old can design a web page when left alone with the software? I sure didn't!
24. I love listening to memory verses and knowing its in there for good.
25. I love seeing a three year old pretend to nurse a teddy bear.
26. I love seeing a child choose a book or playtime over television. 27. I love listening to castle stories evolve while they play with lego castles.
28. I love watching someone gently help a younger sibling. 29. I love singing together.
30. I love it when my child sings his own song, just because he is happy.
31. I love willing helpers.
32. I love beautiful artwork and silly rhymes.
33. I love hearing my children pray.
34. I love seeing my children exhausted but happy after a long day of swimming or playing on a playground.
35. I love reading the Bible to my children.
36. I love hearing my children read the Bible on their own.
37. I love sitting next to my children in church and sharing in worship. 38. I love watching my son happily taking notes during a sermon.
39. I love hearing the sometimes amazing answers to the question: "What did you learn at church today?"
40. I love seeing a little girl give her last dollar to missions.
41. I love the rattle of change in a piggy bank.
42. I love family teamwork. (Let's all clean the house and then we can have a movie night...)
43. I love siblings playing happily together for hours. (Hey, it can happen!)
44. I love baby giggles.
45. I love tickle moments.
46. I love Peek A Boo games.
47. I love grocery shopping with just one child along for the bonding. 48. I love talking one on one with whoever's turn it is to stay up late. 49. I love Six Year Old joke tellers.
50. I love writing poetry together with a child. (You write one line, and I'll write the next...)
51. I love seeing my children succeed.
52. I love pre-reading books for my preteen and then talking about the books together as she reads.
53. I love knowing that God is in control even when I fail.
54. I love that children forgive so easily.
55. I love those happy morning grins.
56. I love the phrase: "I would love to do that for you Mommy."
57. I love trying to learn a foreign language with my children. What fun!
58. I love introducing new wonders, like the insides of a Japanese beetle, or the compound eyes of a fly.
59. I love sharing God's grace in my parenting after a child makes a mistake.
60. I love telling grandparents what amazing thing my child has just done. (They are probably the only people who actually want to hear it!)
61. I love hearing the words: "I found it! I found my shoe Mommy."
62. I love water gun fights on hot summer days.
63. I love realizing my child has grown more then an inch in six months. Well, it makes me sad too; but still... we get to go buy new clothes together!
64. I love when my children see me crying during a good book and want to know why.
65. I love experiencing the wonder of Christmas with my children over again each year.
66. I love celebrating all holidays with my children to remind me about what matters.
67. I love allowing new independence when it is truly earned.
68. I love Well Child visits at the Doctors.
69. I love milk and brownies.
70. I love buying clothes! (Hey, that is part of motherhood!)
71. I love watching my children clamor to tell Daddy what they did in our homeschool.
72. I love giving a child 25 cents on yard sale day and seeing what they can find.
73. I love handwriting that grows more legible every week.
74. I love quiet time every afternoon.
75. I love watching my children "protect" each other in that brotherly protective way when strangers talk to us at the grocery store.
76. I love the unfettered generosity of a child.
77. I love learning important life lessons from a three year old.
78. I love watching my children wrestle with Daddy.
79. I love bargain shopping with children who love bargains almost as much as I do.
80. I love observing a child have fun with his chores. I remember that it can be fun!
81. I love watching an older child read to a younger child.
82. I love knowing I still have time to improve.
83. I love helping a child solve a learning crisis.
84. I love hearing a little girl get so excited to share that she cannot talk fast enough.
85. I love pushing toddlers on a swing.
86. I love seeing a child experience empathy.
87. I love laughing in front of my children. Good healthy laughter. Like when I listen to Jim Weiss tell the story of Archimedes and the Golden Crown.
88. I love making homemade ice cream with my children.
89. I love watching a child determined to "Do it myself."
90. I love picking apples in the fall with four excited children.
91. I love baking. (Notice, I did not say that I love to cook!)
92. I love big dreams. (Like my little girl who wants to own her own store where people can come and get Bibles for free all the time and never pay for anything ever.)
93. I love holding the trusting hand of a child.
94. I love gazing at the stars with a child.
95. I love weeding flowerbeds with children who think it is fun. ("Of course you can help. Really? You like this?")
96. I love Clara.
97. I love Jonathan.
98. I love Anna.
99. I love Caleb.
100. I love my life as a mother.
{To insert the graphic seen above, and share the joys of motherhood on your blog, please take the 100 Things challenge by following these steps. 1. Copy this code into your blog entry (by clicking source, and then copying the code where ever you want the graphic to appear.) and 2. List 100 Things You Love About Mothering Your Children, 3. Leave me a comment linking to your blog entry so that I can read your list and be encouraged as a mother!
a href="http://homeschoolblogger.com/bowofbronze/380935/"
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The bottom line is; We try not to insist on parent-led learning or gravitate toward child-led learning. We try instead to focus on God-led learning and ask for His input and perspective on every aspect of our home school. That way, when others fuss about what Dan and I are doing and make me second guess our decisions -- I can go back to our decision process and find God's fingerprints, reminding me that this is His way.
