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Martha vs. Mary

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is found in Luke, and it's about two sisters - Martha and Mary. In the story, Jesus and his disciples are invited into their home and the two sisters react very differently to their arrival. Martha is described as a busy body, distracted by all that she needs to get done, while Mary simply sits at Jesus's feet to learn from him. Martha then begins to complain to Jesus that she's doing all the work. (As a mom, I can definitely relate!!) But Jesus responds very differently, I'm sure, then what Martha had imagined. He defends Mary, and says that she has chosen to use her time more wisely...Wow, how I wish I could have been there to see Martha's face!


Here is the story directly from the Bible:

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”



41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10)

This story has been on my mind and in my heart lately for a number of reasons.

I think as moms, we can all relate to Martha, right? There's just so much to get done. Especially for working moms - it is the toughest job in the world, no doubt. And sometimes we can get bitter or resentful that your spouse, or your older children, or your neighbor down the street --whoever --- isn't doing as much as you! Sometimes that causes weariness, thinking that the entire weight of the world is on one person's shoulders. I know that when I was working, I felt this way a lot. I constantly felt behind, like I could never catch up on everything that needed to be done in a day. I felt discouraged a lot of the time, and some of the time, I felt just like Martha. I wanted to scream to God, "Look at me - I'm doing everything! I need a break!" And during those times, this story would often come to mind, and I would try to remember that God wants to provide rest for our souls. He wants us to lay at His feet. He wants us to be still.

That's not always easy in today's rat race. In fact, sometimes it seems impossible. If I'm really honest, there were countless days that I failed to spend any time whatsoever with my wonderful Creator. And there were even days where I would get all the way to dinner time with the kids and I would be looking at them wondering "Have I even looked them in the eye today?" That might sound crazy to a lot of people, right? How can you not look your children in the eye? And I hope no one judges me for admitting this. But seriously, there were days when I had to think really hard if I actually looked them in the eye for any length of time. Days where we got up, got dressed in madness (no looking) took Logan to school (no looking), went directly to drop them off at the babysitters (no looking), then came home, made lunch, and while they were eating I would empty the dishwasher or answer work emails (still NO looking).....then nap time, then preparing dinner...and then finally, I would LOOK. I would see my children's beautiful gaze and I'd wonder "Is this the first time today I've actually stopped to look straight into those pretty little eyes?"

But lately, certainly since I've quit working, and even more so since we are not confined to a school bell schedule, I feel as though I have been given the gift of TIME. Time with my kids, time to actually sit on the floor, and watch their eyes sparkle when they pretend to be a princess....time with God, time to pray, time to be still.

Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of days where Martha is all. up. on. me. and the daily tasks are overwhelming....but thankfully, those days are getting less and less. I'm so grateful to God for that, and to my husband for allowing me to stay home and slow my life down, because really, Mary had it right all along...

Gotta love SoCal winters!

Cooking Mamas

For the past few years, I've been trying like crazy to come up with good, family traditions during the holidays. It sounds so easy and simple, so I'm not sure why it feels so difficult to accomplish. Maybe it's because I forget by the following year what we did before (like how I tried to read and collect Easter books each year only to forget to add to my small collection).... Or maybe because life happens and we get too busy (like how we haven't even visited any Christmas lights this year and I only have two days left!!). Truth be told I suck at this! And yesterday was no exception...in all my brilliancy, I decided my new Christmas tradition would be baking. I always dreamt of my house being filled with the wonderful festive smells of cookies and gingerbread and anything fattening and yummy during the holidays. The only problem is, I'm also not good at baking. But I decided this year I was going to bake -- and not only bake but also package the goodies and deliver them to our neighbors. Such a novel idea, right?? Well here is the reality of how that marvelous idea played out.

First, Brenna kept sticking her fingers in the dough, licking them, and then double dipping!!! Being the germaphobe that I am, there was no way I could actually give those to people. Failure #1.

Then, after Hayden and Brenna fought over who would help mommy crack the eggs, Brenna decided to take one and smash it in her sweet little hands. Failure #2.

Then, because the kids pretty much lost interest before the oven even reached 350 degrees, they continued to bicker... And mommy, despite all of her efforts to create a happy, peaceful holiday memory for my children, proceeded to scream "Cooking is fun darn it! You're supposed to be having fun... And if you won't have fun, then you're both going in time out!!!" Failure #3.

And finally, the after product.... Let's just say my baking skills remain as bad as my tradition making skills...Failure #4.

We did manage to get some good pictures out of it all though. Maybe in a few years, I'll be able to convince my kids that this was a happy memory, and the house did smell wonderful and full of holiday yumminess, and they really got along perfectly, and the cookies were the best darn cookies they ever ate... Maybe, just maybe...



14 days of homeschooling!!

I saw this song on a  homeschooling website and thought it was soooo funny! It's to the tune of the "12 days of Christmas" ....I think I can see the humor in it because just in these short few months, I think I've gotten all of these questions and comments so far :)  So, I just have to post it!!

On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can you homeschool legally?"

On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, they can have a prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E.,  we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!

On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How can I get started, why didn't you tell me, where do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE? I think we can do this, if you will help us, we'll join a sports team, and we'll homeschool legally."

Ho, Ho, Ho ... Merry Christmas!

Tonight we attempted to take a Santa picture with Hayden and Brenna (after Logan convinced us that she was simply way too old for that). We love going to the Shoppes in Chino Hills this time of year because they have Santa, a snow show, lights, and a big Christmas tree. Once we were there, Brenna kept saying "no Ho-Ho---- Mommy!" which translated to "I don't want to sit with Santa, I just want Mommy". And Hayden, who normally loves that type of thing, decided she wasn't too thrilled about sitting with Santa either. So... It was time for a compromise. And here were the results.....

Of course after the picture, both Hayden and Brenna just LOVED their new friend, Santa. So much so that Brenna kept yelling "Bye Ho Ho!!" and she even insisted we give Santa her sparkly blue bracelet. Haha! And Hayden was quieter than usual but seemed confident that she was going to get everything on her list :) As for the family picture, though it won't be making it to a wall anytime soon, it's at least good for the memory books... :)

Our Christmas Card

Here is a copy of our Christmas card, compliments of Logan! She took all of the pictures, including the one of herself, edited them and made the card with shutterfly. I LOVE having a photographer in the family!! :)


Looking forward to a blessed holiday season!!!

On Our Tree Christmas Card

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