Motherhood is tiring BUT...

Motherhood is tiring.  I think all of the Mommies in the house just shouted their hearty agreement.  We all know it well this time of year, despite our planning and such to make it otherwise.

It's like 24/7 type of tiring. 

I was in a conversation with a friend today and I mentioned that motherhood is tiring.  She said,

"Motherhood is tiring, BUT there is grace."

It echoed through me for hours afterward.  Motherhood is tiring. 

BUT, there is grace!

Yes, I feel drained sometimes,

BUT, there is grace!

Yep, I can't always think clearly,

BUT, there is grace!

You're right that I sometimes get discouraged,

BUT, there is grace!

Just now Hebrews 4:16 comes to mind,

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Lately, I think stepping back and acknowledging this... Yes, I am not enough.  It's true.

BUT, there is grace!
Drawing near to the throne, I find what I need!

Refuse to stay in the drained state of fatigue and discouragement.  Refuse to continue on in failure and pity. 

Shout "BUT, there is grace!" to yourself.  It's what I'll be shouting this week as the Lord takes me higher and further into spiritual victory.

Gratitude

"This is the BEST Christmast EVER.  I love you, Mommy.  Thank you."
- Scooter and Skeeter

(Melted Mommy Heart)

A Mountain Christmas Memory

I was driving the Blossoms home from Skeeter's piano lesson the other day and noticed a man with a 4-wheeler hooked up to a rope and a sled.  Two beaming children sat on the sled.  Oh, how I smiled!  What memories!  Back in the mountains when the snow would fly, Daddy (my Daddy, not to be confused with the Rugged, Mountain Man Blossom Daddy) hooked up a rope and sled to the beat-up old brown 1984ish Dodge truck we owned and pull us along the back roads and trails. 

So. much. fun.

Snow covering your face.  Speeds that the National Keep Kids Safe But Never Let Them Do Anything Fun Association would thoroughly abhor.  Cold air blasting your cheeks til they were scarlet.  The faint smell of gas from the Dodge's engine.  The shouting laughter.  The calling to each other from the cab of the truck that we'd fallen off and it was time to stop and reload.  Good times. 

Merry Christmas!  May all your memories sprout from love, especially the love God shows us. 

More on my budget-friendly Christmas Tea Party

I recently shared some lessons learned when the Blossoms and I hosted our Third Annual Mother-Daughter Christmas Tea Party.  I thought you all like to see the very Christmasy pics of this year's tea party. 

 

Dipped Graham Crackers... easy and festive... and inexpensive.  (The Sprinkles are very wallet-friendly at my local Amish Bent N Dent store.)

 

I adapted this recipe from some other rollup recipes that I found.  Amazingly, the Blossoms loved them.  Cream Cheese, Taco Seasoning, Green Onions, Cheddar Cheese and Chicken

in a Tortilla...

what's not to love. 

Christmas cookies, baked on our big baking day with my sister.  What a great idea! 

So many cookies,

so much fun,

so little stress...

I already harped a little on these Mini Mousse cups.  If you don't have a recipe, tinker around and adapt, adapt, adapt.  Recipes are FOR perfecting.  Next time I'll try making the Strawberry Mousse, more strawberryish somehow.  We were thinking maybe Mini Trifles next year.  Hmmmm...

As you can see, I opt out of Pinterest Perfection for Blossom practice on the Food cards. I like the homey, handmade touch it gives. 

 

In my many Thrift Store trips, I will someday get a plain and pretty tea pot or two.  Until then, my sister (a tea party fanatic) is always willing to lend her festive tea pots to us.  

 

The decorations were a lot simpler this year.  I'm claiming Sweet Pea as my excuse.  Still, the Blossoms arranged these festive bulbs on the table.  And, they were so happy with it.

The point is

HOSPITALITY.

The Blossoms really enjoyed this little bit of pretty-fying our dining room.  Next year, I'm hoping to snag a few new ideas from my Pinterest Christmas Tea Party board.  But, this year, I rejected the Mommy guilt.  They were happy.  We achieved our purpose.

Much as I love Pinterest, I let go of the perfection in another area.  The Three Blossoms (not to be confused with the Three Stooges) each decorated six favor bags (Hey, a Mommy's gotta be fair!).  Skeeter made the sign.  And the bags had a Poinsettia Hair Clippie, made by all of us.  Skeeter had her first hot glue experience.  (ouch - no permanent damage done though)  We also included a bag of caramel popcorn, which is always a hit.  I always have a million favor bag ideas, but I take myself back to the point. 

 

Budget-friendly Blossom Hospitality

This is our pretty tree - put together and decorated by the Blossoms.  I love its festive-ness!

(That pink rocking chair ornament has been around since I was in first grade,

which makes it virtually an antique, right?  Especially considering the fact that I turned 33 yesterday!)

 

The first year I did this party, I did it for under $30.  I didn't bother to total things up this year, but it didn't set us back, at an already financially crazy time of year. This tea party has taught me as much as the it has taught the Blossoms.  Hospitality doesn't have to be expensive.  It comes from a generous heart and it blesses people.

 

(all photo credit to the ever-amazing Naomi Elle Photography)

What Motherhood Is Like

Motherhood is...

- Buying scotch tape to keep in the Miscellaneous drawer, school drawer and in the supply closet.
- Going to wrap gifts and finding NO tape. 
- Catching Blossoms' using the scotch tape for things like making a pretend sleigh for a new reindeer or making a wise man crown for Sissy.  (Glue takes too long to dry and doesn't hold as well, I'm told.)
- Scolding loudly at the incessant use of scotch tape.
- Forbidding the use of any more scotch tape for miscellaneous crafts because mommy needs scotch tape this time of year.
- Feeling bad because Blossoms then volunteer to pool their own money and buy scotch tape for various crafts.
- Assuring Blossoms that they CAN use and ARE allowed to use the tape for little crafts.  Mommy will just buy more.
- Reaching into the Miscellaneous drawer for the scotch tape, only to have to walk to the complete opposite end of the house to locate the lone roll and
- Promising myself that I will purchase a TEN PACK of it the next time I'm at Walmart.
- Buying 3 extra rolls of scotch tape so they can each have one in their stocking (Daddy's idea!)