MK "Are we going to the Harris Teeter close to our house?" Me "Yes." MK "Oh good! That is my favorite! Well, actually my real favorite is chocolate cake!"
R "When I grow up I think I want to be a Michigan!" Me "Do you mean a missionary?" R "Yes! A missionary!"
MK to me "Mom, when you say no to me it makes God sad!"
MK "Riley, you are so handsome!" R "Thank you, Mary Kenzie! You are the prettiest girl in the whole world!" MK "I know! Thank you!"
Hi, it’s me. Not me Erin. Me Michael, Erin’s husband. I’m not normally a
blogger (heck, Erin is doing well to get me to talk, much less WRITE stuff
down) but think this is an important enough occasion for me to hack into Erin’s
blog (she has no idea I’m doing this) and let the blogosphere know what a special
mom Erin is to our kids. So, here we go:
“The mother's heart is the child's school-room.” ~Henry Ward Beecher
I believe this statement, and am so thankful it’s true – there is no one I’d
rather our children learn from than Erin. And that’s why we are going to home
school. OK, so the last sentence isn’t true, but I wanted to make sure you
weren’t just skimming my post. Because if I was reading this blog entry I’d be
skimming. Back to Mother’s Day. Sure, Erin isn’t a perfect mother – no mother is –
but each of our kids KNOW that Erin loves them. Not just that she tells them
before they go to bed or before she leaves to go somewhere. But that she shows
them she loves them on a daily basis. She lives it. Reads them a book, helps
with a puzzle, fixes their lunch, snuggles up to watch cartoons, helps them
learn their Bible verses, puts on a band-aid, gives them a bath, takes them to
ballet, takes them to swimming, helps with homework, fixes dinner, washes their
clothes, volunteers at their school, encourages them, disciplines when
necessary…I’ll stop here because if I don’t you’ll start skimming. But you get
the idea. Erin does a LOT for our kids.
Still, it’s even more than that. Kids know what our priorities are – they are
some of the most perceptive people around. Our kids know that they and our
family as a whole are a priority to Erin. She doesn’t have to tell them. They
KNOW it.What a blessing that is. Happy Mother’s Day Erin! I LOVE YOU with all of my heart.
“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for
five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” - Tenneva Jordan
Hear are a few thoughts from the kids on their wonderful mother:
I will be the first one to tell you that there are hard days being a mom. There are days where my kids seem a little too whiny, a little too chatty, and a lot too needy.
But then there are the amazing moments that remind me that they are little people that God has amazing plans for. Moments that make me pause and thank Jesus for His compassion and love for even the youngest ones.
One of these moments I happened to overhear last week. Riley has begun to read and has realized he can also read some out of his Bible. So, on this particular afternoon he asked Mary Kenzie if she would like for him to read out of his Bible to her. She said yes and they proceeded to snuggle up in the couch while he read to her out of Genesis.
Eventually, Mary Kenzie got a little bored being read to by a beginning reader so she got up to look at a book on her own. Riley was quick to inform her that this is God's true word and it's really important to read it. Mary Kenzie told him she knew that it is God's holy word but she wanted to look at another book for a few minutes!
These are the feet of our free spirited three year old (three and a HALF year old as she will always correct). I had to snap this picture tonight because this pic is so typical "Mary Kenzie!"
Mary Kenzie is the most fun loving, easy going, smiley girl. Michael and I always joke that adoption was the only way the two of us could ever have a "free spirit!"
This girl loves her slippers! She doesn't care if they match as long as she has some slippers on her feet!
God is so good to teach us things through our children. I have learned so much through the way Mary Kenzie enjoys life. Two of the things I desire as a mom are to learn from my kids and to apologize when I mess up. I want to learn to be more like my sweet Mary Kenzie...to see the joy in all situations and at the end of each day echo her new favorite phrase "Wow! That was fantastic!"
