Monday, July 28, 2014
I'm warmin' up my vocalizers!
Monday, July 21, 2014
FHE fun
When the baby is asleep, the REAL playtime begins!!!
Can't say the Wetzels don't know how to have a good time!
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Just When You Think She Couldn't Get Cuter
Monday, July 7, 2014
Not Seen
If it sounds like any of my posts are preachy, here's the reason. I'm in the habit of giving myself pep-talks. I've found that a lot of the answers to my questions about things lie in simple common sense. Answers come if I just talk to myself long enough and get my mind on the right wavelength. So if it sounds like i'm preaching to you, it's actually mostly to myself. I'm trying to sort through my thoughts to find the heart of what's bothering me and what might make it feel better. Writing has always helped to do that.
That being said, I've been thinking of ways I can feel fulfilled as a mother. I've grown up learning in church how faith is believing in things which are hoped for and not seen (Alma 32). I'm starting to realize the significance of that. I've graduated from college and started my lifetime career as a mother. This is something school does not prepare you for, exactly the opposite. School trains you to feel fulfilled in things which are seen. You do assignments, turn them in and receive an evaluation. Fulfillment comes from receiving a positive evaluation. This happens so many times over the 12+ years of schooling that it becomes harder to feel fulfilled in any other way. Now as a stay-at-home mom, there are no assignments, at least not ones you receive grades on. You don't get a standardized report card to let you know how well you're doing. People can give you compliments on how well you children are behaved, how cute they are, etc. but at the end of the day it seems you're on your own to truly feel satisfied with your daily work. Most of a mother's work is not seen. You don't see the pile of dishes that has just been done. You don't see all the dirty diapers that have been changed. When you look at a mother, all you see is a snapshot of what is. What you don't see is what has been done.
I know i'm smart. I know I could do anything I set my mind to if I chose. I could be a musician, I could be an author, I could be a teacher, I could go to law school with Zach. People have told me things like this multiple times. While this is flattering, one message I get is this: being an at-home-mom is not enough and you should be doing more with your life than wasting your talents.
Now, as a mom I think I need to find a way to shift my focus from finding fulfillment from things that are seen to things that are not seen. Even if the dishes are not done, even if my house is not perfectly clean, even if my kids get annoying and bratty sometimes, I know I can still be happy with my life. One quote that I've always liked is this: Put the Lord first and everything will either fall into place or fall out of your life. I think that's my answer for now.
That being said, I've been thinking of ways I can feel fulfilled as a mother. I've grown up learning in church how faith is believing in things which are hoped for and not seen (Alma 32). I'm starting to realize the significance of that. I've graduated from college and started my lifetime career as a mother. This is something school does not prepare you for, exactly the opposite. School trains you to feel fulfilled in things which are seen. You do assignments, turn them in and receive an evaluation. Fulfillment comes from receiving a positive evaluation. This happens so many times over the 12+ years of schooling that it becomes harder to feel fulfilled in any other way. Now as a stay-at-home mom, there are no assignments, at least not ones you receive grades on. You don't get a standardized report card to let you know how well you're doing. People can give you compliments on how well you children are behaved, how cute they are, etc. but at the end of the day it seems you're on your own to truly feel satisfied with your daily work. Most of a mother's work is not seen. You don't see the pile of dishes that has just been done. You don't see all the dirty diapers that have been changed. When you look at a mother, all you see is a snapshot of what is. What you don't see is what has been done.
I know i'm smart. I know I could do anything I set my mind to if I chose. I could be a musician, I could be an author, I could be a teacher, I could go to law school with Zach. People have told me things like this multiple times. While this is flattering, one message I get is this: being an at-home-mom is not enough and you should be doing more with your life than wasting your talents.
Now, as a mom I think I need to find a way to shift my focus from finding fulfillment from things that are seen to things that are not seen. Even if the dishes are not done, even if my house is not perfectly clean, even if my kids get annoying and bratty sometimes, I know I can still be happy with my life. One quote that I've always liked is this: Put the Lord first and everything will either fall into place or fall out of your life. I think that's my answer for now.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
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