Rainy days

What do we do when outside looks like this...

We bake... 

and we bake some more...

we gaze longingly out the window...

we paint pictures...

and we paint nails...

we laze around...

we watch tv...

and when things get desperate we even plank...

We spend most of our time stumbling through mess and tears and laughter and tantrums... the list goes on for days. It's no small feat to be the mother of small children. They contain multitudes and it requires patience beyond that which I have; Strength beyond the measure of my own; and a love that is equalled only by God. 

Therefore I find myself praying alot and I have adopted this mantra -

"never give up what you want most...

                                 ...for what you want at the moment"

What I want most is to be the kind of mother who talks things through calmly, even when i know yelling yields a faster response! I want to reason with my children, even when they cannot and I am really having to reason with myself. I want to discipline and not hit or spank my way to results. And what I want most of all is to follow the councel of Brigham Young and "never chasten beyond the balm {you} I have to bind up".
On the days where i struggle with the weight of the responsibilities that are interwoven with my motherly mantle I thank the heavens for rainy days.