If Only For A Short Time...: You're A Better Mom Than You Think

I recently read an article about being a better mom than you think you are. God knew how much I needed this article and timed it just right. I had been struggling with feeling like I was absolutely clueless and was failing our sweet boy. I try in everything I do to be a good example for him and to show him right from wrong so when he was coming home from daycare and hitting and yelling I didn't understand and felt helpless. We have spent several minutes over the past few weeks just sitting together and crying because neither one of us really knew what to do. Everyone kept telling me it is just the age, he is in the terrible twos, and he will grow out of it but I was beginning to think there was not an end in sight. I spent countless hours reading articles and books on how to teach him to stop hitting, to be nice, to communicate his feelings effectively, and on and on. I read some articles that made me feel like I truly had it all together and others that made me feel like I had already ruined his life. When I read this article I decided that instead of feeling like I was failing I needed to focus on what I did well that day and the highlights of my time with my sweet boy. That night as I sat and rocked my sweet boy while we finished reading our bedtime stories I asked him he was ready to pray. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said "Jesus." In that moment, I knew I had done something right. He repeats a prayer after me each night and always ends with "maymen" then sings "Jesus love." When we sing Jesus Loves Me, he sings along with the first part and gets very still and silent and waits so he can sing "Bible" as loud as he can. In those moments with him in my arms praying and singing, all of the negative of the day was washed away. It didn't matter that he laid in the floor and screamed for what seemed like an eternity, smacked me with his shoe, or he had a complete meltdown in the middle of the mall because we couldn't keep riding the elevator, my sweet boy knows Jesus and that is all he needs to make it through this crazy life.

Just as God put that article in my life on the day I needed it, he also placed a very special family in our lives when we got our sweet boy. This family listened to me cry, listened to me complain, celebrated every milestone with us, and loved my sweet boy as if he was their own before he was old enough to go to daycare. Today, we celebrate with this family as termination occurred and they will be moving forward with adoption. My heart is overflowing with joy and happiness for them. As we continue to await that amazing day, we will celebrate in their happiness!

Here are a few recent pictures. Our sweet boy loves to talk to Santa but wants nothing to do with sitting on his lap. If you ask him what Santa says he says "Wo Wo" so now that is what he calls Santa.