Best Mother Ever

Hey guys!
Trying to catch up on over a month's worth of activities!!  We just got back from a family vacation (more on that later), and I have been crazy busy trying to catch up from being gone for a week!  Add to that trying to decorate for Fall, switching out Summer/Fall clothes for everyone, and obsessing about political debates, upcoming elections, etc. and I've been behind!  Did I say something in the last post about being "just the right amount of busy??"  Yeah, I'm not feeling that so much at the moment, but I'm striving hard to return to that place.  I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, though.  Over half of my to-do list is completed, which is a huge accomplishment, since for 2 days, I marked off one task only to add 3 or 4 more!
Before I get to pictures and cute stories (if I can even remember any of them), I want to share something I posted on Facebook to my MOPS mom's page.  Mostly, I want a record of it here, so that if one day, my girls are mothers and feel inadequate and overwhelmed, I can have proof that I once felt that way too.... and we all got through it.  I fully expect that when that day comes, my girls will recognize me for the perfect, competent, and loving mother that I am, and they will also realize that my parenting methods and philosophies throughout the years should be exactly replicated by them :).  I actually have a sort of daydream in my head.  It starts with one of them (now a young mother herself) sobbing to me that she's just not measuring up to everyone else and that all the other mothers do so much more than she does and she just doesn't feel good enough.  We live next door, so I'm easily accessible!  Since my opinion is, of course, the only one that really matters to her by that point, I'll hug her, and reassure her, "Oh honey!  It's OK.  Don't cry. There there.  We ALL feel that way at one point.  These years are hard.  Just a minute, let me get our blog-book from when you were little..... ah yes, there's that post....  here, read this...  There is proof that even *I* (the best mother ever, no doubt) felt this way at one time!!"  Her eyes light up as she begins to reflect on what a fantastic mom I was by the time she could remember stuff like that, and she instantly feels consoled that such an organized, together, loving mom like myself (who by now has produced amazingly talented, caring, and respectful adults who love the Lord), once had those very same feelings of guilt and inferiority.  We embrace again as her tears turn into a smile, and she looks me in the eyes and sincerely says something along the lines of, "Mom, you are the best.  You've always been the best.  Thank you, thank you for all of the sleepless nights you endured, all of the laundry and cleaning and cooking and teaching and guiding.  Thank you for simply being you.  If I am half the mother you are, then I know I am doing a fantastic job!"  I shrug with a satisfied smile, and humbly reply, "awwww, it was nothing; you were so worth it."   I then offer to watch my beautiful grandchild while my daughter takes a nap and regroups.  The baby and I cuddle happily for a few hours, and whichever daughter was having this meltdown returns from her rest confident, reassured, happy, ready to have more grandchildren for me, and most importantly, completely aware and reminded of how lucky she was to have been raised by me!!
That's realistic, right??  No??  I went too far??  Not what you came for today??  Yeah, OK, that's fair.  Anyway, just on the off chance any of my kids ever feels like a quaking pile of jello mold when it comes to her parenting confidence (as I have often over the last 5 years), and need this reminder, here is a little epiphany I had the other night:

I just want to take a moment and encourage you moms who are just getting into the whole motherhood thing. Since I had my oldest, I have had the irritating habit of constantly comparing myself to other moms and feeling so inferior every time. I would see moms with 2 kids or 3 kids (or more), and they looked so much more "together" than I felt with just my 1 child. They would tell me a cute story about how their 4 year old wanted to give all of their Christmas presents away to the poor, and I would think, "what am I not doing right that Christa wants to keep her gifts??" Or they would mention the homemade crafts and baking they did, while I could barely find time to take mine to the park. As I was putting the kids to bed tonight, telling the older kids to put on their own pajamas and brush their own teeth, it hit me - I am now the "together-appearing" mom (I think:) juggling 3 kids. And while we certainly still have chaotic days and overwhelming moments, the crafts, and baking, and long walks outside, and sweet moments that show they care about others come naturally, without me reading 100 articles on ways I can parent better. The first year of a child's life is so sweet - but it was hard in so many ways with each girl of mine. When you have to do literally *everything* for someone else, it's hard to make wreaths out of pine cones and nuts with your older kid. So if you're feeling overwhelmed, or like every mother out there is a better mom than you are, I have been there. And I want you to hear that the hard stuff gets easier, and the sweet moments get even sweeter. I have prayed a lot for my kids and with my kids, so I would encourage all of you to do that if you don't already. But if you are loving your kids the best way that you know how, and seeking God's guidance as you raise them, then you are doing everything you are supposed to be doing as a mom. There is no other mom that can love you child better than you, and you are doing a FANTASTIC job, even if your child threw a tantrum when you took away the lollipop or you never got around to the finger painting activity your long-lost friend from elementary school posted on her Facebook page!

 Alright, I'm off to post some pictures from the end of our summer!!