iHoM ~ Quotes for the BIG Picture

Another iHoM post......

These are some of the quotes I use to remind myself 

of the BIG Picture of Motherhood.

Motherhood is a discovery

of the Mystery

of a new human being.

~ Agnes M. Perry

from her book

"Your Labor of Love"

Never lose sight 

of the eternal destiny 

of the child ..... for this alone

gives meaning to your vocation

as a mother, nurturer, and teacher.

~ Agnes M. Perry

from her book

"Your Labor of Love"

For your child's sake,

you must become a Saint

so that he will have 

the best opportunity

of becoming one too.

~ ... i have no idea whose quote this is, but I like it

iHoM ~ Cardinal Joseph Mindszentey

"iHoM" = in Honor of Motherhood

As a way to recognize Mother's day this year, I thought I'd post some things related to motherhood.

Here's the first post of the iHoM series.........

Cardinal Joseph Mindszentey wrote this about Mothers.
I find it most inspiring!

The most important person… on earth is a Mother.
She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral.
She need not.
She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral –
A dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body.
The angels have not been blessed with such a grace.
They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new souls to heaven.
Only a human mother can.
Mothers are closer to God the creator than any other creature.
God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation…
What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?


When I read this quote, it reminds me that what I am doing, day in and day out, every hour of the day, every second of my existence 
(mothering children), is all a Vocation.

It is all a grace-filled gift, even the moments I can't see the grace or gift in!
To have cooperated with God the Father Almighty, the God and creator of the Universe, to have cooperated with Him to bring a new and eternal soul into the world is an AWE-filled gift.

Let us all be thankful for the gift of life,
the "yes" our mothers gave to "join forces" with God
in "performing this act of creation" so that we may have life!

Mommy Vacations

At this very moment, as I write this blog, my kids are eating their dry frosted flakes off the floor.  Several aspects of this scene are a bit out-of-the-ordinary for our house.  First, I'm typing a blog post before 9am.  I normally type my posts while my kids are napping or down for the night; and I'm normally still attempting to wake up enough to THINK at 8:20am.  Second, my kids are eating sugary cereal, which is a rarity around here.  Third, there's no milk in the house, thus they are eating the rare cereal treat dry. Fourth, I didn't say a word or even raise an eye-brow when the kids got down from their chairs and started to eat Jillian's portion of cereal off the floor (after she threw it and dumped it).

Why??  Why is this Thursday morning's events so out-of-the-ordinary?  Because I'm taking a GLORIOUS Mommy Vacation.

A Mommy Vacation.......something I came up with a little over a year ago.
It was a terrible week.  Landon was terribly sick, Jillian was just over 2 months old, and I was sleep deprived.  I was still trying to provide healthy food, have limited tv time, and do chores around the house .  I was miserable!!  I decided it was pointless..... my toddler was sick, my infant was whiny, and I was in a bad mood.  So, I took my Mommy Vacation.

For several days we watched tv, ate whatever was easiest to get to/pop in the microwave, etc.  After a few days, I was ready to take on "normal life" again.

Every once in awhile, it's just "one of those days" where I simply don't feel like fighting the mess, fighting the food battles, doing chores during nap times, etc.  So I take the day off.  I have a Mommy Vacation.  We watch more tv than normal.  I surf the web more than normal.  We eat more junk food than normal.

My Mommy Vacations keep me sane.  Being so busy all the time, going so many places, having so much to do.....it drives a lot of stress and restlessness.  Every once a while, we just need a vacation day.

And, as the Mom, I get to claim today as a vacation day.  Sanity will return!!!