"New Every Morning"

     I am a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) and Homeschool Teacher!  There are many other hats that I wear in my life, but aside from being a wife to my preacher husband, these are the most important roles that I play.  I LOVE being a SAHM but a Homeschool Teacher?…Blah!
     I do not hate teaching my children to read and write and add and subtract as their teacher, but I confess I do LOVE more teaching my children practical life lessons as their mother.  Trying to separate myself from mommy to teacher is a bit tedious at times.  I am trying to keep it real here people and I have to say that I REALLY REALLY do not thrill at being that bossy teacher to my children…..except on those days!  You know those days when the light seems to come on inside that precious little head and things seem to FINALLY "click" into place?  I LOVE "those" days!  I wish there were more of "those" days!

     Recently, my "littles" started Kindergarten together.  Emily and Eli are doing class together each day and I have found it quite rewarding watching the two of them help each other learn.  Eli, being older, seems to grasp onto things a bit faster, but he is quite patient and helps Emily along as well.  As a mother and as a teacher, it thrills my soul to watch my children learn before my very eyes!  Each day I see Emily grow more adept at writing certain letters.  I see Eli recognize another simple word and I feel like jumping up and down.  It is all new and exciting to them.  Can it be frustrating at times, of course, but those times are fewer each week as we progress.  Their zeal of learning seems to be "new every morning" and can be quite contagious.
     As we travel about town or read a book, Emily makes it a point to show me each "E" or "A"or "M" that she finds in store signs or words in her book.  She is starting to recognize things about her every day life the she did not know existed before.  The world, for Emily and Eli, is becoming bigger and with greater possibilities.  It is all fresh and new and as it "clicks" together my children find joy in new knowledge.
     My prayer as a mother / teacher is that I never take for granted the joy each of my children find in growing up and discovering new things. With the first child, it is exciting for the parents and the child, but with a larger family, often times those little mile-stones in the third or fourth child can be overlooked as "normal" or "mundane" steps in life.  It is not mundane for that child.  It is new and exciting for each child in their own time.  I believe my"littles" excitement over reading a new word is contagious.  I pray I am never too busy to catch that excitement and joy.  Sure, I fail miserably over and over.  We have those days where I cannot say "Eli, count your lemons!" one more time but then when he finally does the task and "gets it" in his head, it feels like success! Trials and rewards always seem to go hand in hand!
     Our children seem to learn something new each day.  Whether it is jumping 3 steps at a time, drawing a new animal, reading a book, dressing themselves or reaching the bathroom light on their own, it is growth!  It is a thrill to see in my own family and my prayer is that I will take time each day to watch my babies grow up.  Soon they will be grown and gone and those memories will be what is left. I want my babies to look back and see that their daddy and mommy rejoiced with them in their accomplishments and pushed them to be more and to do more each day.  We do not throw a party each time one of the littles puts on their own socks, but simple words of praise do go a long way!
     Having "one of those days" does not always have to be a bad thing!  "Those" days can be rewarding!

I pray my joy will match my children's and always be 

"New Every Morning"!