MamaBlogga

Today at church, one of the speakers talked about gratitude. Granted, I didn’t hear a whole lot of what he said as I was wrestling with my kids, but after a very stressful morning of mental (and sometimes vocal) whining, it was a reminder I needed to hear.

To help me focus more on getting grateful, I’m going to make a list of ten things I’m grateful for each day over the next two weeks (Monday-Friday)—no repeats.

A hundred things to be grateful for. Are you game? Join in by sharing your lists on your blog or in the comments!

(And don’t worry, I won’t let the gratitude lists take over the blog. We’ll still have content. I might not post the lists every day, but whenever else I post, I’ll catch up on the lists.)

Photo by Alicia Cerullo

G is for giveaways, of course! But not here, this time: my mom, my sisters & I launched a crafting blog this week, and we’re celebrating with a week of giveaways! Comment to win:

• A felted flower bowl,
• Sculpey buttons,
• A scrapbook layout kit,
• A cookies ‘n’ creme cupcakes kit, or
• a set of 10 charm squares from vintage fabric,

All created by us. And be sure to subscribe or follow us for fun tutorials and crafts in the areas of knitting, scrapbooking, home decor, sewing, quilting, baking and all kinds of creating!

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G is also for gratitude. Sometimes it’s tough to think of what we can be grateful for in the middle of all the drudgery—and sometimes that’s just when those profound moments stop us in our tracks.

So today I’m grateful for snuggles. I’m grateful for the three times a day I get to rock a baby (usually) to sleep and watch the peace descend over her face. I’m grateful for Rebecca’s daily request at quiet time: “You duggle me?” (And even more grateful that almost every day, I do!) I’m grateful for Hayden’s spontaneous hugs, and how he like to sit practically on top of me from time to time, just to be close to me.

We’ve all known at least since Oprah that focusing on things we’re thankful for helps us to be happy—but it’s still so easy to forget in the rush and stress of our lives.

What are you grateful for?

I’m thankful to be a mother because of my children. I love seeing their personalities emerge. I love seeing them discover new things and put together the pieces. I love helping them learn and grow. I love their hugs and kisses and the way their eyes light up when they see me.

Why are you thankful to be a mother?

Photo by Br Lawrence Lew, O.P.

How much of our time do we spend thinking about what it would take to make us happy? If we just had a little more money, if we just had more time off, if the kids would just go take a nap, if I could just accomplish this far-off goal . . .

Of course, I wouldn’t argue that we don’t need at least some of each of these things—but sometimes, as an OK Go song says, “If wanting ever taught you anything, it’s wanting more, (and more and more and more!)”

Agented author Natalie Whipple, whose blog I read, posted about this same phenomenon. On the one hand, she’s reached a major milestone in publishing—she’s gotten an agent. On the other hand, she has to still work on her writing and revisions and still has a long way to go to get published—and even then, the work will continue. She’s enjoying a modicum of success now, but it’s still so easy to fixate on what she wants out of the future (emphasis added).

But here’s the thing—my friends’ successes have not changed how they act or feel. Getting an agent didn’t transform them all into happy, perfect writers. Getting book deals didn’t stop them from worrying about the quality of their work. In fact, in some ways there is even more pressure to deliver perfection. . . .

Of course we’ve all had our low points and struggles—hard times are unavoidable. But it’s all about your attitude. If you aren’t happy now, getting an agent or book deal or whatever isn’t going to change that in the long run. You’ll just Want something else and withhold your happiness until you get that.

So for now, while I could always use a little more money, a little more free time, and a future goal to work toward, I think what I’m going to try to want most is to be content and grateful for what I have.

And that seems like an appropriate thing this week, don’t you think?

How do you focus on being happy with what you have instead of always wanting more?

Photo by James Jordan

A couple weeks ago, I made it through another harried hour at church (though this time was much better, thanks to another family in our congregation and their son’s help in entertaining Hayden). It was probably the first time I was alone with the kids in public, as Ryan sits on the stand at the front of the congregation.

As I was gathering up the toys and the baby at the end of the hour, the young couple sitting behind me leaned over the pew.

“You are such a wonderful mother!” said the wife.

And as soon as she said that, tears began to sting my eyes. Her husband joined in her praise.

Believe me, I thanked them, and I’m still thanking them.

It’s amazing what a simple act of kindness like that can do for a mother—her sense of self-worth, her happiness and her fulfillment.

So this week, go out and give a kind word to another mother—in your neighborhood, at church, through email or in the blogosphere. Tell her she’s doing something right—and if you can’t think of anything, here are five things moms do right.

Who knows? Even if you don’t receive a similar gesture, it might just make you feel better about yourself as a mother!

Today we’ll pick up where we left off with Elder M. Russell Ballard’s talk “Daughters of God,” about the eternal importance of motherhood. Last time, he talked about gaining appreciation for the work of motherhood and its eternal importance, finding success in motherhood, reducing pressure on ourselves and enjoying our families and receiving support from our husbands.

Today we’ll get to look at his thoughts on what children can do to show their support for their mothers. As he warned us, some of these answers are very obvious, but I’ll bet that most of our children could use the reminder. Plus, having this come from a source other than their mother is always nice reinforcement.

The third question: What can children, even young children, do? Now, you children, please listen to me because there are some simple things you can do to help your mother.

You can pick up your toys when you are finished playing with them, and when you get a little older, you can make your bed, help with the dishes, and do other chores—without being asked.

You can say thank you more often when you finish a nice meal, when a story is read to you at bedtime, or when clean clothes are put in your drawers.

Most of all, you can put your arms around your mother often and tell her you love her.

And that moment, especially when it comes unbidden and at a time when our children might not know that we need it, is one of the simple joys of motherhood.

Elder Ballard’s final question is what our church can do for mothers. I figure that most of my readers aren’t actually members of our church, but if you’re interested in his answer, feel free to read the conclusion of his talk, “Daughters of God.”