Growing my Garden

Some of us chose to be parents because we thought we should and hated the first couple of years because we were so selfish to begin with, but as we matured, we realized how important our job really was. I am a stay at home mom, I am raising the next generation of leaders of our country. When it is time for me to retire from whatever job I have after my children are grown and gone, my children will remember that I raised them to be responsible, independant people that care for others. I am blessed to be able to afford to be a stay at home mother and I know it. My kids talk to me, their friends talk to me and although they think I am a little old fashioned, at the same time, they tell my kids that they envy the fact that my kids KNOW that they can tell me if they need help that I will always be there. I try to make sure that their friends know that I will be there for them also. I would rather the kids call me to tell me that they need help than end up dead. I make clear what I consider right and wrong, but always with love and once I have made my point, it's over. I am NOT my children's friend, nor their friend's friend. I am a mother and for that I deserve respect and I expect it from my children and their friends.

We have dinner together as a family every night, usually around the dining room table, occasionally at a restaurant, but always the four of us. We say grace whether we are at home or out to dinner and my kids know how to properly set a table (going out from plate: knife, spoon on right...dinner fork, salad fork on left on top of napkin which is placed in the lap before eating). When using silverware, start on the outside and work your way in. Don't talk with food in your mouth and wait until the other person completes their thought before you respond. These are the kinds of things my children and their friends learn when eating dinner at my house.

Like I said, my kids' friends think we are a little 'old fashioned,' but my kids show the benefit when we are in company of other adults. I see the benefit every time an adult tells me how well behaved, honest, and respectful my children are. I simply hope that the influences that they receive from society don't counter what I have taught my children. I pray for my children to grow in the Lord. I pray for my family to grow in our faith and to meet each blessing God sends us with hope, confidence and perseverance. By raising my children to learn to abide in Christ, I am planting seeds. By planting seeds, I hope that I am bearing fruit, good fruit, for the Lord.

God bless.