"My Cup of Tea"

I was reading an article the other day about how you should cherish the years when your kids are little. It said "The days may be long but the years are short". There are days when Barrett doesn't take a nap, or Liv is fussy and the day seems so long! But I know that they won't stay this little forever...and they are so darn cute at this age!


My mom gave me a book last year for Mother's Day called, "My Cup of Tea". This book is full of insightful, sweet and humurous short stories about a Mom with 4 kids and her busy life. I wanted to share a really inspirational part of the chapter, "Sweet Dreams" ---Serving God by Serving our Children:


"I awake to find myself cramped in the far corner of my bed, clinging to the mattress to avoid being pushed onto the floor. Rousing myself to conciousness, I find that my neck is stiff and my left side is asleep from the waist down. My husband doses comfortably on his side of the bed, but my four year old son and three year old daughter along with their sprawling limbs, have completely taken over my half of the bed. I have some blurry memory of "Mama, can I pweese sweep with you?" After one trip to the potty, two glasses of water, several tuckin's, hugs, kisses, stuffed animal retrievals, I think I've convinced them to stay in their bed...for now.


One of God's greatest gifts to parents comes through our children's natrual, dogged insistence that we abandon our own self seeking in favor of theirs. Christ teaches us to see him in others, and our children are a natural place to begin. "How much do you love me?" He challenges us through their tiny voices. Will you take off all the snow gear you put on me minutes ago so I can go to the bathroom and then put it back on? Will you let me use your bridal veil to play princess? Will you buy the inexpensive stain resistant shirt instead of the one you really want? Though we may not always respond with perfect patience and generosity, the unpredictable and demanding nature of family life holds the promise of future opportunities to answer God's call to Charity".


She ends the chapter with:


"At the precise moment when I am falling back asleep, I hear a familiar sound. The shuffle of fuzzy pajama clad feet followed by a clumsy opening of my bedroom door. My three year old marches bodly to my bedside and, without staying a word, clambers in, claiming her spot beside me. She snuggles her back against me, adjust my pillow and tugs at the covers until she is satisfied. I drape my arm around her and pull her close. She heaves a heavy contented sign and rests a small hand on mind, patting gently."


I just love this book! It puts our every day challenges, adventures and blessings as a mother into perspective.