Some chaos...

This is from Thursday... I imagine this is your life too... trying to hold two or more... don't poke her, don't grab her, all up in ya grill, wiggling, interrupting, making you lose your train of thought... man, oh, man. So, keep sleeping. Keep praying.

How to pray the rosay when your hands are full...

Meet with our Blessed Mother every day. She will guide you and hang by your side. She loves you so.

Sweet Dreams...

My husband says my life will change forever. Cheers to an earlier bedtime. And prayers for a kinder heart that gets more sleep.

You are enough

Sometimes we need to remember that we are enough. We fail all the time. We have days that feel hopeless. We have days that are hard. We are always trying to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect, but we are human, and we have to recall that.

Some mommies are home all day. It can be so very lonely. It can be an interior and silent suffering. Stay strong. Be vigilant. Continue to pray. Ask God to give you the grace to be joyful. We need joy. We can not do this job without joy. If we could only just remember that He loves us and we are enough. His deep and abiding and merciful love is enough for us.

Praying for all of you moms out there who are up all night nursing, pulling yourselves out of bed to push forward in the morning with a smile, and then on to your vocation of motherhood throughout the day... praying for the grace to find the joy in each small act of obedience to God and the strength to continue to love bigger in the things God is asking of us.

I'm joining you mamas, down in the trenches.

I was inspired to record a video talking about some normal happenings of our day, each day, so as to share with you the normalcy of the life of a mom... especially if you are a stay at home mom... and especially if you are Catholic. I am not offering expert advice by any means, but just "the day in the life of" and "how I survive" and "how I pray" in the midst of it all! I will try my best to be helpful, sometimes entertaining, and on occasion, very funny.

Down in the trenches some days but, my eyes facing You, my Lord

They are pure gifts to me. Sometimes I do not see it. I am reminding myself every day: that they make me holy, that every act of love done for them is an act of obedience for Jesus, and that every day that seems so long and hard will be gone so soon.

I adore you, Oh Lord, and I praise you. You have given me so much.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart...

Every day I have to look into their eyes and be reminded that these children are a gift from God and each moment with them is an act of obedience to God... He has entrusted them to me.

They are the ones meek and humble. I am the one learning from them. That being said, they are also learning from me. When I see one of them yell at the other, I remember that it is me who has taught them to yell. My self control, my meekness reflects on them. My agitation, my aggression, my anger, my quick switch... also reflects on them.

Thanks to Michelle Dugger, I have recently begun a new practice. Every time I am tempted to yell, I whisper instead. This is a very hard thing to do. I see the Lord's great plan for my holiness and detachment to my sentiments as he teaches me this self control. You say, they won't listen... but try it... they want to stop and strain to hear what it is you are saying to them... they love you.

"Mom, I'm hungry."
"Mom, this is very bad. Come see what Adam did."
"Mom, please get me something to drink."
"Mom, can you put this costume on me?'
"Mom, will you play legos with me?"
"Mom, I'm SO hungry."
"Mom, what time is it? Are my friends home yet?"
"Mom, I don't want to do that."
"Mom, can you come wipe me."
"Mom, I was playing with that first."
"Mom, I need help."
"Mom, I don't want to take my nap."
And the list goes on...

My name is called hundreds of times a day. Let's not mention the small baby who cannot even say "Mom" yet. She certainly tells me when she needs something.

My patience starts to wear thin and I carry people around, hear my name, feed people, and wish to sit for just a moment. I start to grow grumpy and tired as the day goes on. I then start to raise my voice. Why does everyone need ME? Ahh. I just need a minute. But, no, it is me HE calls to, not them. They are my cross. They are my path. I must learn to be a mother of gentleness and humility and service. Of course, I need to correct them, I need to protect them, and I need to set boundaries, but quietly and consistently.

So, I am working with many failures to stop raising my voice. I am trying to keep it peaceful here. I am the only one, along with their dad, who will teach them their first taste of peace. It's of eternal importance.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart more like yours.

Come pray the rosary...

She looks for us. Our Mother looks for us like any mother keeps up with their child... whether we are doing well and fine or are in a state of suffering, panic, or feeling lonely. She waits for us like Christ does. She wants us to sit beside her and speak to her of the heaviness of our hearts. She waits.

It seems I have made her wait long some days... or months. I have been distant from our Mother. There has been so much chaos. For a woman who is a mother, I suggest this; that you pray at least a decade of the rosary every day. Meet with her daily. She will sit next to you and hold your hand along the way.

Something that helps a mommy to pray the rosary is something I recently found called "www.comepraytherosary.org"

Go here and decide how you would like to pray that day... what mystery, as an individual or a group... etc. Turn it on and let them lead you. You can do it in the midst of nursing babies, folding laundry, doing dishes. We forget to often that Christ wants us to find him in our daily routine. He wants us to just love simply in our simple moments. So pray and "sit" with Mary while you serve him in your home. You can even give hugs, pour drinks, cook dinner, kiss boo boos, and hold a baby while you pray.

My kids are starting to learn that this is their mom's quiet time. They can pray along with me, watch the pictures of Jerusalem on the screen of the computer or if they need something super important, they can quietly whisper, "Excuse me" and I can pause the rosary for a moment. Its easy to teach them. They love watching the bead on the screen light up when we get to the next pray too.

Our day needs to be saturated in the Lord. It will help us so much. His grace will fill us. In the midst of all the mess, He is there.