See You at the Top

My friend Marci shared this today, and I HAD to pass it along!  My new motto for the next 90 Days is, "See You at the TOP!"  Who wants to join me?

"How do we get to the view on top? What a great reminder on my trail run today....

I took off to get in nature & go for mtn run to "fill up" for me. As I was running, I came upon this couple who had stopped basically at the base of where the mtn went UP & got really steep.
They said... Is this the trail?
Looks like it I replied...
But... It's so steep, they cautioned as I continued.
That Just means there is an even greater view on top I said... And as long as u stay on the trail moving frwd, u will get there.
Sadly, they decided to turn back... The view ahead appearing too steep
The fear of Failure & the perception they were looking at it through that it would be "too HARD".
What they didn't know is that life is not about PERFECTION but PROGRESSION.
It is only as HARD or as EASY as we want to choose it to be.
If they chose to not look up to the top of the mtn, & instead focused on one step at a time... that their journey is their perfect process of growth, & that it is ok to even stop on the steep hill experience of life to breathe, take a mini break & look for the beauty, gifts & what they r learning in that exact spot on in their journey...
What if they dropped all the attachments to what we "think" it has to look like to be a success & knew instead it got to look like whatever they wanted, & success for each of us can b what we want it to be that is perfect for us vs someone else.... Then they might've realized focusing on just one step at a time..."inch by inch, life is a cinch" that through progression they would eventually reach THE SUMMIT, the PEAK offering the GRAND VIEW of life & getting to the RESULTS they wanted.

The journey was beautiful . . . Each & every step, but because my focus was just 1 step at a time . . . I was blessed to see the gorgeous changing colors of the leaves & THE VIEW FROM THE TOP."

The Love Box

My good friend posted this thought, "Marriage Box" on her wall this morning.  And it was such a perfect lead into some of the thoughts and feelings that have been flooding my heart these last few days that I felt it was inspired and time to try to put them on paper.

First - read it. Important foundation.  Did you do it?  So good, isn't it?

This led me to think about my relationship with my husband, which naturally led me to think about my relationship with my children. 

My son is 3 months old.  When I look at his face, stare into his beautiful deep-blue eyes, do you know what I see?  Acceptance.  Pure love. Love that transcends anything and everything, that buoys you up through any hard day, any trial, any struggle, any tears that may be falling from my eyes and heartache that may be happening in my world.  There is no judgment in his eyes.  I see the way he looks at me and feel cherished.  I feel adored.  I feel like I am the most beautiful person in the world and there is nothing he would rather be doing than staring lovingly into my eyes and laying happily in my arms.

After shedding a few thousand tears as these thoughts washed over me, I realized that those things are EXACTLY what he gets when he stares into MY eyes, when he looks into MY face, when he feels the warmth of MY smile.  Because babies only know what they see in front of them, only know what they have been given.  So I must be giving him what he is giving me, teaching him what he is teaching me. He must look into my eyes and see my love for him, my acceptance of him, my adoration for him, that he is the most precious, beautiful thing in the world to me.

I then looked at my three other children, some days while they were fighting, yelling, ignoring me, making huge messes; and some days while they were playing peacefully together, making me smile with every sentence, pulling my heartstrings with their love, hugs, kisses, "I love you, Mommy" actions and words.  And I was appalled to think that there are moments when they DON'T get from me what my baby does.  Times when they DON'T look in my eyes/face and see and feel all of those beautiful things that he does.  Moments when they receive from me the exact thing I am frustrated with receiving from them.

Does that resonate with you at all?  I know Moms are human, and we CANNOT be "on" all the time!  We are going to make bad choices right along with our children.  We are learning motherhood in WAVES instead of trickles. 

But motherhood is also a box.  Our relationships with our children are also a box.  If we are doing it right, we are putting love in our relationships with our children.  We are putting more love in our children than frustration.  We are putting communication, forgiveness, prayer, priority.  They learn it all first-hand through us.  And because we aren't perfect, they learn forgiveness, humility, persistence, dedication, repentance.  They also learn the art and habits of giving, loving, serving, praising, keeping the box full by constantly contributing TO it. 

On the other hand, if they learn to take more than they put in, they are also learning to live in an empty box. 

There are a lot of empty boxes in this world.  But I truly believe that if our children leave our homes with full boxes, leave full boxes behind them in the relationships they had while at home, our children will create a world of FULL boxes.  They won't know how to do any different!

Truly the hand that rocks the cradle IS the hand that rules the world.  And parenthood is the key that will give this world a lot more FULL boxes!

So that, my friends, is my Deliberate Mom goal for this week.  Fill my children's boxes to overflowing.

We Don't Do Yelling

Photo from SheKnows.com

One of my friends recently posted that her little 2-year-old heard her yelling at her son, came in the room covering her ears and said, "No, Mommy!  We no do yelling!"  It was a reminder to her of what she had told those little 2-year-old twins to keep the noise level down in their home.

But for me, it was a game-changer.  See, we've become a little too prone to "yelling" around here.  Though I didn't notice it in myself, I definitely have started to notice it in my children - as they yell angrily at each other to stop, to give it back, to leave them alone, etc.  So yesterday we had a little discussion and talked about our family goal for the week: No yelling!  I explained to my children that, "In our family, we don't do yelling!  We do communicating!"  I told the kids that this meant I would correct them when they yell, I would tell them, "In our family, we don't do yelling!  We do communicating!"  I also told them there would be days when Mommy would need THEM to remind me, that if I started yelling, they would stop me and remind me that, "In our family, we don't do yelling!  We do communicating!"

I know this isn't going to change thing overnight, but I also know it's a very good first step!

What other family declarations do you have?  How have you helped your children (and yourself) correct a bad behavior before it became a defining habit?

Calling All Shoes - Walk This Way!!!

Do you want to be part of a miracle? Because we are creating one.

My good friend Amanda is trying to adopt to complete their family.  After losing their baby a few years ago and not being able to get pregnant again, their arms are ready to give these children a home -- and you can help raise the money to do it!

From Amanda:
Join us as we collect 40,000 gently used but still wearable shoes THIS MONTH to raise the funds needed for the adoption of two children. We can take ANY type of shoe - boots (we LOVE boots, since they pay us by the pound), flip flops, high heels, tennis shoes, dressy shoes, sports shoes, cleats, anything. For men, women and children. As long as there aren't gaping holes . . . and they match . . . we'll take them! You declutter, we earn much needed adoption money AND the shoes go to third world countries. WIN, WIN and WIN!!!

To find the drop location nearest you (we are in 10 states) and to read our story, see our blog for details: www.lacesforlove.blogspot.com.

All shoes must be gathered by March 31st so we are in the final stretch! WE CAN DO IT!
Help us complete our family. Sole by sole.
Thank you.