Real moms.....

I was tagged by Carrie for this meme and I took a few days to think about it. Real moms do so much and since I can only name one, Real Moms Teach Their Children (and love it) . As parents, we are always teaching our children, whether it be riding a bike or that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom", Psalm 111:10. Sometimes the teaching is tough for our children and sometimes the teaching is tough for us. The key for me is knowing that it is my responsibility to teach them and to be diligent in that.

Some of the things I teach my children are:

• To love God and obey His commandments.
• To love life and be thankful for every minute they are given.
• To feast on the good things God has provided for us.
• To hate their sin and pray.
• To be ladies.

Some of the ways I teach them these things are:

• By homeschooling them. This shows them that I love them, that I believe it is my responsibility to teach them all of the things they need to know, that I CAN teach them all they need to know, that they don't need the type of "socialization" the world would have them believe they need, and that Jesus is the centerpiece of our lives.
• By teaching them to be ladies. This includes teaching them how to dress, carry themselves, and speak. Now, I'll be the first to say that my girls are tomboys. They like to be outside playing basketball, riding bikes, playing badmitton, playing in the dirt, etc. My goal is that they know how to present themselves accordingly in various sitations. Another goal is to teach them to be wives and mothers. They learn how to cook, how to clean, and how to care for a husband and family by watching me. This means that I must also teach them to do these things with a happy heart. I have to show them that I am joyful for all of God's blessings to me.
• To quote Coach Grant from Facing the Giants, teach them that we must "give God our best, whether we win or lose." I try and do this by reminding them what God has given us. Each day we wake up is filled with blessings from God and this should cause us to strive to be more pleasing to Him.

Yesterday I taught them a real practical thing....keep your things in their right place and you won't have to waste time cleaning them up all the time! LOL! This really means that I took nearly everything out of their closet, sorted through it and tossed things that were too small or seasonal, made them try on 100 different things to see if they were still useful, and put the closet back together.....NEATLY! They learned a whole lot more than how to clean out a closet....they learned the consequences of being disorganized, they learned how hanging on to things can "clutter" up your space, your life, and your mind, they learned how to work diligently to accomplish their goal, they realized that they were not giving their best in this area, and they learned to be thankful for all of the things that were in and came out of their closets. This is such a practical thing but taught them so much.

My goal this weekend is to teach them to plan a garden. Next week, I hope to help them apply this teaching and show them how to plant a salad garden. I am constantly teaching them and I love every second of it. This is one thing that this "real mom" does for her children! Check out what Carrie and Annie had to say about "real moms."

This is the mess that is still in the girls' bedroom floor....they'll be cleaning it up today before they are allowed to play (yet another teaching opportunity!).

This is a pic of some of the things that came out of the closet that didn't fit! Can you believe how much stuff is here! We'll be taking it to a local consignment sale that's coming up in a few weeks!

Did I mention that a "real mom's" job is neverending?!!!