Birfdey Cakes!

As little E poured her crayons onto the table this morning, this is how they landed with one sticking straight up. Her eyes got big and immediately she said "Birfdey cakes!" and began to sing "Happy birfdey to you!" So funny how her little mind works. We've had quite a few family birthdays lately and she keeps asking "when my birfdey?" or "I want MY birfdey cake!" I think this will work to an advantage this month as we look forward to Jesus' birthday and trying to explain simply but truthfully why that is so very important.

As I think about the joys (and struggles) of mothering and teaching, I recall a recent conversation with a young mom that opened my eyes to the mindset of our culture. Her little girl is in daycare 8 hours a day and this mom was saying how inadequate she felt to be teaching her daughter and how thankful for daycare for fear that if she were not in daycare she wouldn't learn anything. "They have degrees in this stuff..."
I guess I never even thought about that before. That any woman could feel inadequate to teach her child the simplest things like eyes, nose, mouth, 1,2,3, etc. May we not be duped by our culture that trys to tell women they don't have the knowledge or skill to be a "teacher" to even preschool children. God gave children to parents, not communities. If you're a mom be encouraged knowing He has equipped you with something way more important than a degee in preschool education. He equipped you with love - parental love - for your child. A love that teaches, disciplines and plays all day, every day if you stay home. That's so much more important than being "smarter" than all the other kids at daycare.

Anyways...off my soapbox...Enjoy being a mom! It is such a gift from God!