FOR ALL MOTHERS

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see my goal?" They could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick children in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Meyer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."

This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children. This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see and for the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes and for all the mothers who don't.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleeping to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

Is it the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

I think so.

So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then reading it again, "Just one more time".

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired two year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started to school and for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips (sometimes until they bleed) when their 14 year olds dyed their hair green.

This is for all the mothers who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won't stop.

This is for all mothers who show at work with spit-up in their hair and milkstains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home or are grown.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.

This is for all the mothers whose children have gone astray and who can't find words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their child to school with a stomach ache, assuring that they would be just FINE once they got there, only to get a call from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up right away.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working moms and stay-at-home moms. Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money and mothers without.

This is for you, so hang in there. The world would be a terrible place without the love of mothers everywhere. You make it a more civil, caring and safe place for the precious children in our world.

Being me!

My name is Rhonda,
I love my family and friends with all my heart and soul.
I have been overwhelmed by so many things,
I never know what my life is going to bring.
It has had its highs and lows,
But every experience I go through helps me grow.
I have learned to appreciate the little things in life,
And that you have to work for everything you get and to always put up a good fight.
My parents have helped me so much,
I don't know how I will ever be able to repay them I can't thank them enough,
They taught me all I need to know,
All my accomplishments to them I owe.
My Mom and Dad has taught me to be proud of who I am,
And to never be afraid to be a ham.
My Husband has taught me to be confident,
And do everything I can to the best extent.
My daughter's has taught me to be sweet kind and very loving,
And that being with your family and friends is the best treat.
My Friends have taught me to have a sense of humor,
And to not be afraid of all the stupid rumors.
I am the person I am today because of all the people who have shaped me in everyway.

I'm no Beauty Oueen

My whole life I have been too tall, too fat, too big, not pretty enough, not athletic enough, and the list goes on. But who says? Who says I'm not perfect just the way I am? (Yes I am stealing that line from a Selena Gomez song... but it's just so fitting) Well, I think I am! I know that I was made perfectly this way because this is exactly the way God made me! I may not meet everyone else's ideas of what they "think" I should look like or act like, but I am me... take it or leave it. I shouldn't have to put on a show and make people think I'm one thing when I'm really not. I may loose some people along the way, and that may stress me out like crazy, but in the long run I will be happier that I don't have to constantly change to meet everyone else's expectations.

How boring would this life be if we were all exactly the same? So why is it that we are all trying to be like everyone else? Why can't we all just accept ourselves for how we are? I'm so not guilt free in this statement, I am always trying to be just like the girls I see in the magazines. I have come to realize very quickly though, that this life is not all about looks. How shallow must your life be to focus all your attention on the way you look? Little do these people know, the more they focus on their appearance the worse their personalities become, and it actually takes away from their looks. I have a friend, I would like to think she is the most beautiful girl in the world, she probably knows it, I mean how could she not, but beyond that she is the sweetest, most caring girl I have ever met. I have never heard her say a mean word the whole time I have known her. And because of that she becomes that much more beautiful. I'm not saying don't focus at all on the way you look, I know for me I want to be the best me I can be inside, outside, and every way possible, but if looks are all that matters... well looks fade.

For some reason I hear the excuse all the time... "oh they don't mean it, they just don't think before they speak, they have no filter." That to me is a cop out, I know our Heavenly Father did not make anyone without a "filter." Everyone has the control over themselves to not make people feel bad. And isn't that what being Christ-like means, it doesn't mean we pick and choose the Christ-like attributes that are easiest or fit our lives the best, it means we strive to do it all!

Everyone has "flaws" it's what makes us unique. And we have to stop comparing ourselves, there will always be someone prettier, or skinnier, or smarter, or faster, but there will never be someone just like you. Everyone has something different they bring to every relationship, and if we automatically count them out because they're not pretty enough or thin enough... we could miss out on some very rewarding relationships!



"I wouldn't wanna be anybody else. You made me insecure, told me I wasn’t good enough. But who are you to judge, when you’re a diamond in the rough. I’m sure you got some things, you’d like to change about yourself. But when it comes to me, I wouldn’t want to be anybody else. I’m no beauty queen, I’m just beautiful me."

Student of the Month!

Hannah,Watching you grow from a little girl
to the wonderful, thoughtful
and caring person you are today
has been one of the greatest joys of my life,
and I am so very proud of you congrats on being Student of the Month

SPRING

Jack Frost has upped and gone away,
To his icy summer home.
He stays there whilst the sun is warm,
I'ts not safe for him to roam.

Now he's left the earth warms up,
And flowers start to grow.
Peeking through the heating soil,
Growing quickly for a show.

Crocuses and Daffodills,
Green shoots poke through the ground.
And with each day as spring returns,
They burst up all around.

When sprng arrives the garden glows,
With yellows, blues and reds.
Stretching in the sunny warmth,
Whilst Jack is safe in bed!

Day at the park

Valentine's 2011