Marriage is a commitment filled with promises that are made between two imperfect people, yet tied together with love and a vow. With the words “I do”, you promise to love and cherish your spouse. Although society says love can be temporal and disposable, and that it is okay to disregard your vows; God paints a different picture. His is one of perseverance, companionship, love, and devotion.
It was one of those not so proud moments of motherhood, where instead of speaking life and encouragement to the ones I love, my words came out hurtful. It was undeserved. Through the grind of day to day, we need to be conscience of the words we speak, and the tones we speak them in. We impact those around us, whether we know it or not. Thankfully, sometimes even when we mess up, we are shown God’s grace, through the undeserved love from another, and hopefully, we can glean from those moments, reciprocating the same love to others.
I watch my precious kids grow up before my eyes. Each 24 hour period passes almost as quickly as it arrives. I try to balance all of life’s details, while still prioritizing my kids. Despite the slew of stuff that bombards each day, I want to stop and breath in the moments that make each day special. I want to appreciate my kids and savor the moments that I don’t want to pass by. Hopefully if I pause long enough I can create a memory that can’t be taken from me. So as I hear the laughter bubbling through my house, and the joy that kids bring, I want to put aside my tiredness, my work, my distractions and remember how fleeting these moments are. I want to soak in just one more memory.
You were so young, still forming in my womb, as anticipation of motherhood filled my heart. Everyone around us was so thrilled to hear the announcement that you were on the way. Each passing day I grew more and more excited, longing to hold you, to meet you.
In today’s busy society, multitasking seems essential to keep up with all the demands of daily living, yet with this mentality sometimes we don’t pause long enough to show proper respect. I think teaching children respect at a young age really makes a big difference.
My daughter Isabella Grace Houle is almost four. For a while I was convinced she was going to be primarily a daddy’s girl and I was going to take a back seat. To put it bluntly… we did not always see eye to eye.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I am not excited for you. I am. I know you will excel in school and do awesome. You are super smart; you always have been. You recognized the alphabet at 2 years old. That seems advanced to me. You love to learn. Your teacher already picked that up at kindergarten evaluation. They flattered me with the notion that they almost wanted to advance you to first grade. Your brightness shows.
It was 8:20pm, the kids were in their room winding down for the night. Me and my husband were relaxing on the couch, as I hear the pitter patter of little feet. This is a normal occurrence at night, the kids seeking their one (or three) last goodnight interactions.
On May 9, 2009 at 11:24pm I gave birth to a 4lb, 11oz son. The first time I held him I didn’t fully comprehend what it was to be a mom, and yet I knew I loved this child I carried for 36 weeks. The sacrifice, the devotion, the love had not sunk in as I confidently assumed mothering in its entirety would come as naturally as riding a bike… perhaps I was thinking of a bike with training wheels?
As parents we need to be at the front lines for our children as their number one advocate and protector. Taking the first blows as situations come charging at our kids, whether it be filtering what they hear, protecting their steps, or nurturing their heart we need to invest in our kids with passion and conviction, teaching them what true love is and learning it ourselves. There are few days that go by that some foreign food substance hasn’t lodged itself on my shirt, or that the coffee pot has run dry way too early; yet, we need to plow forward. Not because it’s easy, but because we love our kids, and we are going to be held accountable for how we parented them.