Mother's Day 2013

Celebrating Mother's Day - me with Callie...and then some other mothers I admire and their kiddos:)

And then there are these two kiddos...my pride and joy (my daughter and my niece!!) These two girls are the very best of friends - and I can't wait to watch them grow up together!

 We have been spending a crazy amount of time at the ball park...and one night my Grandpa Raber (Gpa GG) surprised us and came to Max's game! Here is Callie holding his hand:)

 Me and my two sweeties on Mother's Day - they are my world!

 And last but not least, sweet and energetic Nate - I LOVE this photo...this kid is a hoot!!

Tomorrow we have a family photo shoot that I won from Mandi Knepp for Mother's Day - hoping I don't completely freak out about clothes, smiles, and perfect poses. So silly...hopefully we can just be ourselves:)!! Wish us luck!

Intentional....

I came across this today and it hit me square in the gut:

"I felt torn between loving my children and feeling inadequate and frustrated most days.


One day, I sat down in total defeat, a sense of darkness hovering over my soul, and wondering what I was doing wrong, I opened my Bible and read…

“Children are a blessing from God, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

Slowly over the next days, as this verse began to capture my imagination, I began to ask God to show me my children from his eyes and to help me to know just how I was supposed to mother them."

-Sally Clarkson (you can find the rest of the article here).

There are TOO many days that I am frustrated because everything on my to-do list doesn't get marked off. I am short-tempered with my children and I am selfish with my time.
Starting today I want to spend my time more intentionally...I want to forget about the to-do list and play with my kiddos. I want to listen to them laugh and mentally record it as a memory. I want to read the Bible WITH them and pray about HOW to mother them. So often I just get caught up with life - and forget about living.
This was just such an amazing reminder for me:)