I must be doing something wrong

Today, Remington came to me and asked, "Mom, do you need some peace and quiet?" To which I responded that peace and quiet is always nice. Then, he informed me that I could go and work on the computer while he takes care of Indi and Walker. Over the last 10 minutes, he has come in to check on me and make sure my "peace and quiet" is "nice and restful."

This would be a cute story if he hadn't told his Grandpa Stum, my father-in-law, a couple of weeks ago that, "my mom needs a break. She needs to go relax for a couple days and have a break because she's tired." Okay! Am I sending the wrong message to my children? No, I do not feel like I need to get away from my kids and relax! And, no, I don't really want my 5 year old watching the younger kids for me so I can have some "peace and quiet!!" And, YES, I do want my kids to feel as if I love being their mother and I love being with them!

And, yes, I do get frustrated with my children. For instance, this morning I found my cell phone charger cord cut up into little pieces, courtesy of Indi. So much for re-charging my phone! I also found 5 or 6 pages from my bible torn out and strewn all over, courtesy of Walker. My poor book of John in the New Testament, I think most of it has been torn out by Walker...I guess that is his favorite book of scripture!

But, there are also moments of pure bliss. Last night, we were all jumping on the trampoline together, and Remington showed his karate moves in mid-air, followed by each of us demonstrating our moves for the rest of the family. The best was after Ryan had done his "jump and kick, land on his back and bounce up and kick, land on his back and bounce up and kick, repeated with a third land on his back and bounce up and kick." After he was done Walker took his turn demonstrating his imitation of Ryan's move. He laid on back and kicked his feet in the air while flailing the rest of his body around. It was HILARIOUS!!! Walker is the king of mimickery--I love it!

So, how do I show my family how much I love them? I loved Elder Ballard's talk in conference (http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-851-37,00.html). I thought the following points were particularly helpful, especially if I can apply them!

First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction. (I have thought of this quote so many times over the last few weeks. It makes the frustration seems less frustrating, and I want to grab hold of the shining moments because I know it is fleeting!)

I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).( Holy Cow! Do I need to take this one to heart! I am always so busy trying to get on to the next item on our day's agenda, that even if everyone is having a great time, I still march on to the next activity!)

And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. ( I have never loved soaps, but I do love to waste my time on the internet! I am sure that he wasnt' referring to blogging! :)

Fourth, pray, study, and teach the gospel. Pray deeply about your children and about your role as a mother. Parents can offer a unique and wonderful kind of prayer because they are praying to the Eternal Parent of us all. There is great power in a prayer that essentially says, “We are steward-parents over Thy children, Father; please help us to raise them as Thou wouldst want them raised.” (I love this one. I am finally realizing that my natural parental instincts aren't always right, nor do I always understand what my children need. I am so grateful that somebody does know and that He is willing to share this knowledge.)

So, maybe I should practice this advice and sign off and go play some games, read a couple books, and help clean up the toy room with my kids!!!