Hello. My name is Lindsay. I am a Mom. And I am a pathological complainer.

I'm exhausted, my feet hurt, my neck won't turn to the right, I haven't peed by myself with the door closed in over 4 years, and when I ask my 4 year old to pick out her clothes for the day, she goes straight to the laundry room and digs through the piles until she finds what she wants to wear!

Sound familiar?!

I sure hope so!!!!


For the first time in a loooooong time, we made it to church this weekend!

 

Yep... all 4 of us! I even put Hunter in the nursery.... and if you know me AT ALL, you know how big that is for me ;-)

 

One of my biggest challenges in motherhood is trusting other people with my kids. I have extremely high expectations for MYSELF when it comes to them, I take my job very seriously, and I do a damn good job at being their Mama... 2 women handed me their babies to love and take care of and I do it with every single ounce of me. (Sorry for saying 'damn' ;-)

 

It's hard for me to even comprehend that someone else in this world 'might' be able to care for them even a fraction as well or as much as I do.

 

Hannah was 10 months old the first time I left her in the church nursery...she screamed the whole time and no one paged us so the next time I left her in the church nursery, she was 15 months old.

 

She was 16 months old the first time I hired a babysitter for her... and the rash on her butt because the sitter didn't change her took 2 different Rx creams and about 2 weeks to go away. The next time I left her with a sitter (that wasn't family), she was 2.5 years old... and then we moved. (I don't believe that it's a coincidence that she now goes to school only 35 minutes away from our new house... Molly; WE MISS YOU!!! :-))

 

Our church has many different campuses and each campus has an 'overflow' or 'cry room' that is somewhat more private and a little quieter than being in the service. We went to church about 6 months ago and kept Hunter with us in the overflow room... and it still didn't go well :-/ When we decided to go to church this weekend, I had NO intentions of leaving Hunter in the nursery! NONE.

 

And then we walked in and signed Hannah in.... my Daddy's words to me from almost 3 years ago echoed in my mind...

 

"There are very few people in the world who are patient and loving enough to volunteer their time to spend with babies and kids. God has given the people who volunteer in church nurseries a very special gift... and for you to not trust them with your baby is almost like denying them the ability to act on the gifts God gave them."

 

And he was so right.

 

So I left my 11 month old, 10 week premature, sometimes breathing-challenged, always snotty and coughing baby who sometimes hears and sometimes doesn't in the church nursery... with 6 women who's faces light up at the sight of those babies coming through the door.

 

I gave them a 'short' synopsis of Hunter's life (they put him in the baby-baby room instead of with kids his own age, since putting him with runners and crawlers when he just learned to sit doesn't really seem fair), and made sure they had my cell number so they could text me AND page me if they needed something... Yep... I'm 'that' mom.

And I am 100% ok with that ;-)

 

He did great!

 

And so did his Mama ;-)

 

It felt SO good to be back in church, singing praises to my Jesus, and sitting next to my handsome husband!

 

I expected no less than a punch-to-the-gut sermon on our first Sunday back ...

 

and that's what we got!

 

I could hi-light so many points from Sunday's sermon.... but I won't. What I WILL do is confess something to you...

 

something I am working to lay at the feet of Jesus.

 

I think one of the most challenging aspects of parenting is working hard to reign in our children's attitudes and defiance but being able to balance that with allowing them freedom and independence. I also think that the single most difficult part of parenting is not allowing our own attitudes and defiance to control our daily lives.

 

In short:

 

We're hypocrites.

And we're complainers.

 

Our list of daily complaints is long...

 

The laundry never ends! I can't take them anywhere! When will he finally sleep through the night?!

 

My confession; I complain entirely too much. I allow my list of complaints to overshadow my purpose... and all that God has called me to do... to be.

 

This week I'm making a new list and I would love your help...


Seeing the Hidden Blessings in Every Complaint!

 

"I've had enough of her attitude!"... But that attitude is what will make her a strong, independent woman.

 

"The laundry never ends!"... But my kids are active and so they get dirty!

 

"I just want him to sleep through the night!"... But I will enjoy every second I have with him when his cheeks are rosy and eyes are heavy with sleep and his body is limp against me... because one day, not too long from now, I'll wake up in the middle of the night and my arms will ache to hold him... but he'll be asleep ;-)

 

"I just want to be able to pee with the door closed!"... But one day I will find myself sitting by the phone just waiting to hear the voice of one of my babies... so I'll keep peeing with the door open so my kids don't kill each other and there will be someone to call me when that day comes ;-)

 

** Ok ok... so I'm stretching a few of these... but really, some of them require a little digging in order to change them from a complaint to a blessing ;-) **

 

"Why can't he just put his stinkin' coffee cup in the dishwasher when he gets home?!"... But what makes his coffee cup any different than the dozens of bottles and sippy cups I wash each day? He works hard so our kids can be raised daily by one of their parents... pretty sure i can handle one more cup to rinse and put on the rack.

 

"I am so sick of having sick kids!"... But sick kids = exposure to germs... and exposure to germs = exposure to other kids... and exposure to other kids = social, active, happy kids. So ok... sick kids it is... at least their happy and sick :-)

Your turn... please help me turn those complaints to blessings.... because we truly, every one of us, have been blessed with so so much!




** Disclaimer... sometimes complaining is just necessary. It's better than yelling or screaming or giving up so please, don't block me from seeing your FB status and don't stop leaving your honest comments.... we need to support each other and have a forum where it's safe and acceptable to complain sometimes! I just need a break from it for a few days... and I can't help but think that it'll do everyone some good to just turn some of those into blessings :-) **


And just to humble myself a little bit more...

Me; It's time to get dressed... go pick out you clothes for the day!
Hannah; Umm Mommy? Where are my clothes?
Me; Hmmm.... Either in the laundry room....

or on the living room floor...

:-/