Parenting

One of the most exciting things about having kids is seeing the excitement in their eyes when they experience something fun for the first time. One of the most enjoyable trips we have taken, is when we took Lily to Disneyland last year, Jarrod and I have been to Disney more than we cared to, since both of our families love to go. But this time we were taking Lily (Jett was there too but in my belly) and she was old enough to really enjoy it. She was in awe of the rides and the characters! Seeing her so excited and happy almost brought tears to my eyes several times. Now I cant wait to go back! 
The same is true with Christmas. As parents we are given the honor and responsibility to give our kids these wonderful experiences. I heard one speaker say, "Your kids only get one childhood, make it a good one!" This has been in the back of my mind ever since I heard it. It's so true! Our children are going to look back on their childhood and hopefully remember all the good times and the fun experiences they have had. We only get one shot at giving them the best childhood we can! The traditions that we start now they will remember and carry on into their families. I often think what do I want my kids to say about what kind of mom I was growing up? I hope good things!
Being a mom is so much harder than I ever imagined. I am realizing this as my daughter gets older. The baby stage is physically draining yes, sleepless nights, feeding schedules, keeping them safe as they crawl or start walking around the house. But as they start getting older the job becomes emotionally draining and you start to discover all the things that YOU need to work on.
What I mean is, you start to have to teach them how to be a good person, how to ask and answer people in a respectful way. How to obey, and be kind and gentle with others, what to watch on tv and not to watch, what are nice words and not nice words. And guess what?! They learn all of this by watching YOU! The adult who is with them 24/7.
When your sweet little two year old mimics and repeats everything you say and do, you really start to check yourself! If I get upset and yell or slam a door, (adult tantrum). Then when Lily gets upset that is exactly what she will do. Then I have to punish her for it! WOW. Parenting is hard.
But I think what I have learned is instead of trying to fix your child and get rid of her/his bad habits, we have to check their main role models and get rid of their bad habits and that means us.
As they get older, it gets even more severe, the way we talk to our spouse, or if we bad mouth other people, or skip out on church for no reason. These are all things our kids are going see and do themselves. Whew! All I can do is pray for God's help because I am such an imperfect person! Thank you God for trusting me with this huge blessing and responsibility!