So I'm a stay at home mom of two boys: H who is 3 years old and D who will be one at the end of November. Some days staying at home with them is just like what most people (who are not a stay at home moms) imagine what it is like: we smile and laugh, do fun things, make cute crafts, take perfect instagram pictures, and say please and thank you while frolicking through a field of flowers and honey bees that don't sting while holding hands and laughing. During these days showing my kids how much I love them is easy-peasy.
More often than not, that's not how my days go. My wardrobe is mostly from Old Navy and Target because by the end of the day (even if I'm lucky and have showered within the last 3 days) I end up with a stretched out shirt with stains from dirty little boy hands, or the common bodily fluid mishap of a baby. (Why spend more than $10 on a shirt, am I right?) Kids scream when they don't get their way, and they have a very specific radar that chooses exactly what you don't want to do at that moment. Kids don't eat what you make, and if they do it usually ends up all over the floor and their freshly laundered clothes, which leads to the most dreaded chore of all--laundry. Kids cry a lot when they're tired and this side of glory I don't think I'll ever understand why they put up so much of a fight when someone offers dark, quiet room with a big fluffy bed and white noise right when you get into that afternoon lull. M travels about 10 nights a month so there are weeks when these things happen days on end without a break and without a conversation with a person older than 3. Kids are crazy. They are hard. During these days showing my kids how much I love them is a lot more difficult--not because I love them less, but because mama. is. tired.
I have this little phrase I use to remind my boys how much I love them. H is forced to repeat it every night after his prayers, and after every time he's disciplined. I say it to D when he's a bit whiney, and it makes him smile, probably because he thinks a tickle is coming next. I knew I needed some phrase to remind them, and myself, how much I really do love them--when things are easy peasy and when we're all a little worn out. I also want to teach my boys in a way that it's easy to transition truths mom and dad teach to truths scripture teaches. Then I thought of these verses:
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in you inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." {Ephesians 3:14-19}
I want my boys to know the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ. Right now, they can hear and see and understand who mama is and how much I love them. So, my phrase for my boys is, "I love you as high as the sky, and as wide as the mountains, and as deep as the ocean." One day I hope they'll understand God's love for them is infinitely bigger!
So here's a simple 8x10 print I made for their room to remind all of us, and I thought I'd pass it along to you guys. I'll be printing it and putting it in one of these pretty frames. Enjoy!
Do you have any special phrases you share with your little ones?
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