And I realized today, on my oldest son's 4th birthday. I've officially been a Stay-at-home-mom for as long as I was a teacher!! Teacher for 4 years; Homemaker for 4 years. They're tied. Seemed like I just turned in my resignation letter to the school district last week. Four years and 2 1/2 kids later (we are in the adoption process for those of you that didn't know- for kiddo #3)..... I am thankful for the decision Aaron and I made. Yes, I'll probably teach in some capacity in the future and I'm going to keep my license up to date, but God has given me a different passion and desire right now.
Being home hasn't been easy. It's been painfully challenging and gut wrenching at times, joyful and fun at others, but we have the swing of things most of days and it's going pretty well- albeit exhausting. And, somehow, I love it. God has taught me much about relying on him and less on myself. I love being able to get my babies up in the mornings, tuck them in for their naps, read them 5,000 stories, read the children's bible, do Resurrection Eggs, do preschool lessons, push them on the swings in our backyard for 2 hours..., take them to WinCo, and kiss their boo boos. I love to be the one taking care of them one they're sick even though it's exhausting, the one to rock the colicky baby even though it's painful to listen to, and the one they share every random exciting story with throughout the regular days and fun days alike. I love doing my husband's laundry (remember- I also wash cloth diapers so this is my measure...;)- thankful for his presence to make all those dirty clothes, I love having dinner almost ready when he walks in from a long day away from home, and I love managing the home as time consuming as it is!
Some people don't think stay at home moms work. If you're one of them, come job shadow me for a week and maybe you'll change your mind. There are no days off; every day is the same. You're always on duty, always in demand, and always meeting other people's needs.
And yes, there's the money issue- or lack thereof. Halving your income cut in half isn't the easiest thing to do. But God has taught us many things during the last 4 years about contentment, gratitude, generosity, living with less, global needs of the church, etc. One of my favorite quotes from an Andy Stanley Podcast is,
"When you become more aware of the needs of others, you become less focused on what you don't have." And oh so true is that.
I know not everybody wants or has the opportunity to be at home, but the fact that I blinked and my 4 pound tiny baby turned 4... it goes by fast (though it seems slow) and I know we will never regret the seemingly large monetary sacrifices made during this season of our family life so that I could be home to take care of my hubby and babies. It does get exhausting to make these "so called" monetary sacrifices, but when I really think about it, I know how ridiculous it is that.....
-NOT eating out, or
-NOT buying myself new clothes, or
-NOT going to salons
-NOT using disposable diapers
-NOT going on a lot of vacations etc.
_________fill in the blank
is even considered a sacrifice. That is such an American culture mindset. And those things don't even affect my kids negatively at ALL. There are so many mamas out, in our country and even more so in developing countries, who are fighting for their lives and just to feed their kids. Just so they don't starve. Eating a wholesome meal at home instead of paying somebody else to cook it? A sacrifice? Yes if you use facebook where everybody posts all the restaurants they're eating at. No, if you really think about it.
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| Any sacrifice really seems 100% worth it when you get to take care of and shepherd these two goofballs all day long. Learning a lot about the ministry of motherhood these days and feeling very grateful. (Mateo and Alex, here 3 1/2 and 1 1/2) |
