She Said

I love my children.  I love the fact that I get to stay at home and be there for them.  I love laughing and dancing with them.  I love watching them turn into amazing little people.  But there are times when I get frustrated.  Times when I just want space from them. 

Last week was one of those times that I just wanted space from my children.  There was no specific reason for it either.  I was just tired of picking up toys and whatever else they decided needed to decorate the floor that day.  I didn't really want children clinging to me every single moment. 

So there I was, feeling closed in while serving lunch to my 5 & almost 2 year old.  I was putting pretzels on their plates and then my daughter said the most random thing. 

Her:  Mom, you know you're serving God.
Me:  What do you mean?
Her:  Well, because you're serving us.  You serve God when you serve others. 

After establishing what a smart girl she is, I thought about what she said.  I started to feel less closed in. 

After lunch I sent the two of them to take a bath.  After I handed them both their own wash cloth, she looked me straight in the eye and said, "You're still serving God."  She then turned away and started splashing her brother, acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

In the days after this I've thought a lot about what she said. 

I've come to realize many things.  First of all, I have an amazing daughter who most definitely listened to the promptings of the Holy Ghost that day.  How else could she have known what to say at that moment to uplift me and make me feel better?  Not just once but twice. 

Secondly, my Father in Heaven is aware of me and the little things going on in my life.  Sometimes it's so easy to feel like He has so much to do and so many people to help that your small feeling of frustration won't be noticed.  But He does notice.  He does care. 

I also gained a new way to view taking care of my children.  Everytime I helped tie their shoe or washed their face, I was really helping my Father in Heaven.  It's not a new concept but the time it was said by the person who said it has had a rather profound effect upon me. 

I haven't yet finished wrapping my mind around this new concept.  I'm not yet sure how it will change me as a Mom and as a person.  I only know that it has changed me. 

Ella


© Ella's Place

Another Reason Why I Love My Husband

I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned how wonderful my husband is but can I tell you how amazing he is too?  It's true; he is AMAZING.  It's not only because he started celebrating Valentine's Day on February 1st; I got my first Valentine's card in the mail then.  Or the fact that he took off the whole day yesterday to watch the children so that I could do whatever I wanted; I slept in 'til 11:45 (utter bliss).  Nope, it's because he didn't get upset that our son threw up on him as soon as he walked in the door tonight.

My 1 year old must have caught a stomach bug and spent the day being miserable.  He was so excited to see his Daddy!  Not only does he love his Daddy but Daddy is a good cuddler and all my son wanted to do today was to cuddle.  So my son met him at the door.  As soon as he was in his arms, it happened. 

Now, being covered in foul smelling body fluids is never fun but as soon as you walk in the door is even worse.  You're just not prepared for it.  I was very impressed that my husband didn't yell or get mad.  He just changed his clothes, clean up the mess and cuddled up to my son again. 

It just made my heart happy. 

I am fully aware how fortunate I was to marry my husband.  I must have done something good in my childhood to deserve him. 

Ella


© Ella's Place

SuperCroc

Like most little boys, my oldest son was enthralled by dinosaurs at a young age.  It started when he was one and hasn't really stopped.  A few years ago he discovered a dinosaur movie about a SuperCroc; a 40 foot crocodile that ate dinosaurs.  He was utterly fascinated!  It made dinosaurs real to him.  

In 2nd grade, his teacher introduced him to the Internet.  He used to rush through his work on a special website so that he could search out more information about SuperCroc.  Being the smart kid he is, he discovered lots of stuff about SuperCroc.  He even found out that there are life like replicas of the SuperCroc in a traveling exhibition.  He decided he must visit them! Unfortunately, the exhibits were disbanded and all the life like replicas were sent to museums outside of the United States.  He was heartbroken! 

After a little digging, I found an intact fossil at the Oakland California Zoo.  Of course he wanted to go right now.  Being poor, I advised him that wasn't possible but I made a deal with him; if he could earn/save enough money to pay for his airline ticket then I would pay for everything else.  

Well, the time has come to make reservations.  I have to say that I'm quite excited!  And a little obsessed.  I've never been to California or the San Francisco/Oakland area.  I don't know anyone there and have a whole bunch of questions about hotels, things to do and what the best way is to get around.  I'm sure everything will work out.  I just like to plan things out in detail so that there are minimal things that can go wrong.  It's just who I am.

The best part is that it will just be my son and myself.  Much to the dismay of my other children, they will staying at home for time with Dad.  I told them they could come if they had enough money for an airline ticket.  They won't be coming. 

SuperCroc here we come!!!!!! 

Ella


© Ella's Place

Be My Valentine

It's finally happened.  My oldest son has his first official Valentine.  Her name is Hannah.  She's in his class.  Here's how it went down:

He wrote a note asking her, "Will you be my Valentine?"  At the bottom he made 2 boxes; one labeled yes and the other no.  He then gave this note to her while he pretended to grab his journal. 

He was nervous.  Why?  Because like most girls, she showed the note to her friends.  Before he knew it, a quarter of the class had seen the note.  How embarrassing!  Thank goodness she had already checked the yes box before she showed it to everyone. 

My son is all hyped up when she gives him the note and he realizes he has a Valentine!  So he shows it to 2 people he trusts (his words, not mine).  Well, then she gets mad at him for showing the note to someone else.  (I laugh now but I can totally remember what it was like.  All the drama and angst.  How it was all so important!)

Realizing  he did something wrong by her avoidance of looking at him, he sent another note asking if she would forgive him with the yes/no boxes at the bottom.  She, being a girl, checks both boxes.  So now he's worried and confused. 

He continues to find excuses to walk by her desk trying to see what he could possibly do to make things right.  He even passes another note asking for her to forgive him but this time she doesn't answer.  Then one of her friends advises my son to just stop talking to her. 

At this juncture, he realizes he needs help.  He sends his friends into the fray to help calm down the situation.  The best part is that his friends immediately went to the girls that they had crushes on to find out what was going on. 

Let's just say, things continued in this manner for a while.

But don't worry because by the end of the day everything ended well.  She forgave him.  He still has a Valentine.  And his friends had an excuse to talk to the girls they liked. 

I will admit that through most of my son's storytelling I was laughing on the inside while trying to be supportive and understanding on the outside.  But seriously, how cute can it get.  The best part is that this whole boy/girl thing hasn't changed since I was his age.  It all happened the EXACT same way. 

Let's just say I'm really glad I don't have to go through all of that again.

Ella


© Ella's Place