Mother's Day

Its my first mother's day and I am alone in the house with my husband for the morning. :)  We are recovering from being two months married and already parents to 1,2,3,4 kids!  I have always believed that God puts us in situations to remind us that we need him, that we can't do it on our own.  And I think that being an instant mom in a differnet culture is definitely one of them.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I love my kiddos and I love every day that I get to spend with them getting to know their different personalities and use every possible moment to teach them something new.  Lesther asked me recently what is my favorite thing about being a mom and I can say without question that it is when I see them learning something new.  They are little sponges and soak up everything from English to Bible verses to music to higeine habits.  But oh the responsibility that comes with that.  What am I teaching them?
I have an idea in my head of a perfect mom, the mom that I would be if I wasn't working full-time, if I had a full-time maid so I didn't have to be distracted by mundane things like laundry and dishes, if I didn't get tired of have a bad attitude or just want to hole up in my room for an hour.  I'm sure it will come as a huge surprise, but that is not the mom that I am on a daily basis.  Sometimes it feels like all I can do is get home from work, cook something, do laundry, and get everyone to take a shower before crawling into bed.

In the course of one week we have missed homework assignements, totally punked out on the school fundraiser, missed brushing teeth, missed bedtime stories, watched too much TV or played too many video games, and had too many harsh words from mom over shoes and hair barrettes that seem to be constantly lost.  We live in a state of disaster when it comes to getting out of the house on time and getting all the details put in place.  And yet... in the grand scheme of things, does it matter?

I'm not ever going to be the perfect mom and its something that I will slowly have to accept.  There will always be dirty laundry and dirty dishes.  But for this week we were able to bring a new daughter home for a little while and show her what it looks like to be loved as part of a family.  This is Dixi on the left and she has been with us about two weeks.  We were able to talk about Jesus and salvation with Dixi and Nicolle in a very 5 and 9 year old way.  We learned some English, some Bible verses, kids prayed out loud.  We sang itsy bitsy spider more

times than I can count, cleaned up vomit, and went swimming.  This week we loved on each other, served each other, and laughed a lot.  This week daddy did dishes and helped with laundry.  This week kids got a hang of their weekly chores.  This week mommy and daddy got a Sunday morning break and did not feel guilty about it at all! :)  I am so thankful for the many people who love our family and our kids and help us out at every turn!

I am happy to be a mom and I am learning to trust that in my moments of weakness God knows exactly what my kids need and will provide for them.  I am praying for them to know Him first and foremost and look to Him for all of their needs because mom is just never going to be able to meet them all.  I love love love this job that the Lord has given me as messy and crazy as it makes my life.  So happy mother's day to all of you out there who do this same crazy daily job!  It is so worth it :)