Don't forget to laugh

It's been a while since I've blogged, and I had an experience I felt to share.

Tonight I was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated as a mom. My son was screaming, and I could not figure out what was wrong. I had fed him, changed his diaper, etc. I was also trying to get work projects done, so it was hard to balance his needs as well.

Sometimes being a mom is a lot of guesswork, and I had done a lot of guessing as to what my son needed. When I reached the point where I was too frazzled to think clearly, I finally put him to bed, so I could have a moment of peace to collect myself and then try again.

Turns out going to bed is what he needed all along. :P

So after cleaning up dinner, I pulled out my computer to start on some work projects. I saw this in my Facebook feed, and it was a perfect outlet for me to laugh at myself and the sometimes hectic lifestyle of being a mom.



It puts it in the extreme, but I love the conversation between the mom and dad.

Dad: "You're job..."
Mom: "...is hard. I know."
Dad: "...important. That's what I was going to say."

Being a mom really is important. It is the most important job in the world. Name one other job where you can have such a personal impact on an individual.

Even though it's hard, I wouldn't change being a mom for anything in the world. And in those hard moments, I need to remember to smile, put things into perspective, and laugh at myself. And besides, I have a lot more of the fun moments like this that make it all worth it.

So to my fellow moms...Remember to laugh. Remember to love. Remember you are loved. And remember you are wonderful.

Spatulas and pencils

A laptop charger. A spatula. A pencil. What do these things have in common?

They capture my 8-month old's attention for hours.

Ever since our son figured out how to army crawl, he has been exploring everything. At the beginning he would crawl toward something new, look at for a minute and then move on to the next new thing. He loved to explore.

Now he is in the investigative stage. He'll grab a spatula or a spoon and stare at it intently, turn it over, put it in his mouth and try to figure out how it works. As a mom I find it funny how enthralled he is with such simple things.

Children have such an amazing sense of wonder. They are always asking seemingly trivial questions: "Why is there glass in the window?", "Why is the sun yellow and not purple?", "How did that get there?"

We might get annoyed with the questions, but wondering is how children learn. They wonder about everything and wonder in everything. They take time to notice the world around them and then take the time investigate and learn.

I am amazed with the small details my son notices, and what he wants to explore (such as a piece of carpet fluff or an escaped cheerio). He notices the small things, and I've thought how different my life would be if I took a page out of his book and noticed more details in the world around me.

God has created such a beautiful world for us to live in, and we should take the time to wonder in awe at His glory and power. He created this beautiful world so we could see a small daffodil or the deep green of a towering evergreen and remember Him.

We often get busy as adults and forget our childhood sense of wonder. Sometimes it might seem painful to unplug from technology, social media, work, or whatever it is in order to take time to wonder. But imagine how much you could learn if you took even 5 minutes everyday to wonder about something.

Do something today to rediscover your sense of wonder. Go on an adventure. Climb a mountain. Sit outside and do nothing but enjoy the sun. Put away technology and just listen. Paint a picture. Dance in the rain. Foster a sense of wonder in others and do it yourself.

I wonder...

A little bit of light

So a while ago my husband and I were watching the Winter Olympics (yeah, a while ago) and suddenly GRROAAAN...POP! The power goes out. It was instantly dark, and my silly brain starts reminding me of every scary movie I've seen and I begin imagining all the worst-case scenarios. (ridiculous, I know) Luckily, I have a wonderfully level-headed husband who kept my thinking rational.

We went outside to see if we could figure out what the groan/pop noise was and to see if other people on our street had power. We also racked our minds as to where/if we had flashlights. We found one small and very dim flashlight and our vanilla cinnamon candle. (Yay for being prepared...haha) It's a good thing we live with my grandparents or those would have been our only light sources. We couldn't remember where they kept their flashlights, but we did find more candles. 

Not very bright, but even a little light makes a difference.

We live in a more elderly neighborhood, and my husband felt he needed to go around to make sure everyone was okay. He helped one neighbor turn off a fire alarm that was going off (don't worry, no fire), and we found out that the power outage was due to one of the transformers at the nearby power plant going out. Our neighbors said we were supposed to get power back in a few hours.

While my husband was gone, I took sometime to write in my journal and reflect on this experience. I realized how utterly unprepared we were. A dim flashlight and a scented candle...yikes...

I thought I'd share a few of my thoughts from my journal.

"It's weird that when I turn the lights out myself it doesn't matter, but when and outside force does so, I instantly felt scared and not in full control...this is a blessing in a way because it's teaching me to not fear even in dark times."

"Even though it's small, the candle whose light I'm using overpowers the darkness, and my eyes are making the other necessary adjustments, so I can see. Even when times seem dark, if there's a little light we need to hold onto it and make adjustments in our perspective to let more light in."

"I don't need to fear or feel out of control because the Lord is in control, not in a way that restricts my choices, but in a way that assures us we will be blessed if we faithfully keep our covenants and rely on Him. He is that light we can hold to when it's dark."

"I'll be more grateful for electricity when it's back. And I know that after my trials I'll have a greater understanding of God's love for me and I'll be a better person."

I enjoyed having the time to think and ponder. It didn't take too long, but I was able to learn a lot. I think God was trying to tell me to slow down, turn off distractions and listen to Him. I definitely want to be more prepared for emergency situations, but I also want to be more prepared to listen to God when He wants to talk to me. It's funny, but as I wrote in my journal...

"Sometimes it takes something as dramatic as a power outage to get a lightbulb to come on. :)"