Mission Accomplished - Week One

"Mom, thank you so much for getting up 3 times a night to check on me when I cry. Thanks for waking up at 4:30AM to feed me every morning. I appreciate so much that you wake up at 7 AM when I wake up and no longer get to sleep in. I love that you take extra time to play with me now that you are home all day and you are always trying to think of new things we can do together. Peek A Boo is one of the funnest games we play. You make me laugh mommy. No one gets me like my mama gets me. You are my favorite person to cuddle up to when I'm tired and you know exactly how I'm feeling at any given moment. You work from sunup until sundown because you love me....and I just want to say,
MOM YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(That's what I think she would say if she knew how. I mean doesn't that look like a face of gratitude below! hehehe) Me and this little gal have had a great first week together!!

I was delighted to have a shipment of beautiful flowers arrive on my doorstep this week. My co-workers surprised me with a farewell bouquet and it felt like a big hug from country away. Really, the timing was impeccable because I hadn't realized how badly I needed a little boost. Thanks gang. These pretty flowers blessed me a whole lot!

A little visit with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma was a wonderful treat. I love company as does Daisy. It breaks up our routine with a little something different and we all know how nice that is!

Daisy has learned how to "give kisses" We ask her for a kiss and she stares at us very seriously and then either opens her mouth and holds very still until we kiss her mouth or she closes her mouth and leans forward. It's one of the most adorable things I've experienced with her to date. Joey and I can't get enough of her "kisses."

Week one as a SAHM is quickly coming to a close! What was it like you might ask? A vacation from my job (or a vacation from my problems as Bob from What about Bob would say lol)? A dream come true? An adjustment? Well, basically it was exactly what I thought it would be with a lot more...lots of priceless life lessons for me and all in one week. Yah, I'm pretty much being taken to school by none other than God. That's not a statement you read or hear often is it but, I'm serious! I'm a Christian gal and I am a pretty conservative and traditional gal most of the time but, I also have quite a strong feminist streak in me. Don't ask where that comes from...I know, it's just a whole other story that I don't have time to share right now. When I got married I inwardly rebelled against the tasks that more or less go hand in hand with the marital union. I didn't like that I had to work full time and yet was still putting pressure on myself to cook our meals, clean our house, grocery shop, pay our bills, do our errands etc. I wanted a 50/50 lifestyle because that felt liberating and fair. I wanted equality! I wanted to kick my feet up on the coffee table and to veg. out watching TV every night while someone slaved for me in the kitchen. I wanted...yah....blah blah blah. So, God took me to school then too. I think I was easily in school for a few years that time around and with all the time I spent in school I should have been awarded a BA degree in marriage and family therapy after all the life lessons God gently taught me. Every time I was stubborn he showed me what I looked like by holding a mirror up in front of me. Every time I was selfish he let me feel the sting of someone else's selfishness. Every time I held a grudge against my spouse or had an unhealthy expectation he broke through my walls and made me soft again. Ouch but, ahhhhhh so wonderful. He showed me the beauty of serving my husband and that it is a gift to be given not a burden to carry. He taught me that love is patient and love is kind. It does not envy or boast. He taught me to forgive 7 times 70 and basically he showed me that if he could love the mess that I felt I was that I darn well could at least try and be a Godly wife. God's desires are only to give us the best marriages and the best things in life and my outlook was robbing me of His best for me. He taught me that and guess what...now I know.

So back to the whole SAHM thing. First off: I want to be a SAHM. I DO know that I am so fortunate to have this opportunity to be here and to invest time and love into my daughter. To nurture her faith and be the one to guide her step by step. There is no one I'd rather have doing that than me or my hubby. I am blessed!! I am thrilled to be able to be more intent about my time with her and elated that I get to take better care of my home and my hubby than I have for the past 7 months. Some things just don't fall as easily into place for me as they do for others so God has me back in school again and I'm enjoying it! At the prompting of a friend I purchased the Book In Praise of the Stay-at-Home Mom by Dr. Laura. I've never read anything by Dr. Laura before but, I've heard of her and she definitely roots for the SAHM. This book could not be more timely or perfect for me at this time in my life. Don't you just love when things happen in what can only be described as perfect timing! I only know one author of perfect timing and that is our Father in Heaven! Dr. Laura is a smart cookie and in only a few chapters she has completely summed up all the things I've been feeling and wrestling with but, that so few could understand when I tried to explain. I'm not crazy after all!! Yeah!! lol. Perhaps I will elaborate on this book more in other posts but, in closing it has been really encouraging and eye opening for me to say the least and I would definitely recommend it! On top of that I've been doing an evening bible study by myself at night and spending more time in prayer. God speaks!! We just have to slow down and hush so we can hear Him. It's always good!

I got a lot of housework done this week, ran errands, made a few dinners (this is a HUGE deal, lol) which I will blog about later and had my sister assist our family by using my camera to snap some pictures for us yesterday so I could edit them and get our Christmas cards out next week. I have to give her kuddos for capturing what I asked her to so well. I got a few that are just adorable and I will share them as soon as my cards go out next week. Early because we are traveling to CA for Christmas in just a few short weeks so I won't have time to do card mailing later. Can't wait!!!

And finally, If you are a mom or a wife or a mom and a wife can I just tell you that the things you do for your husband and your children are invaluable. You cannot put a price tag on the investment you are making in their lives. Every meal, every "chore" every time you hold back your tongue when you want to take a head off, every time you get up early or stay up late for a loved one, every load of laundry, every counter wiped or sofa fluffed...every, nose dried, dish cleaned, hug offered and so on....it does not go unnoticed....not by your family or by our Father in Heaven. You are making a difference in the lives around you! You matter so much!!