I have read a couple of things lately that have made me feel that maybe having 2 children isn't as hard as I thought. I get overwhelmed quite frequently, and many times I feel that I have not accomplished much in the day even though I have worked myself ragged.
Currently, I am reading "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura. The book is really putting things in perspective for me. It is very true that if Mom isn't happy, nobody's happy. It's our responsibility to make sure that we are being as pleasant as we can around our husbands and family. If it means taking a nap, or asking for someone to watch the kids for an hour so you can have alone time, so be it. We determine the atmosphere in our own homes. I do not know where this quote came from, but it enters my mind daily. It says something to the effect of "Care and love your family in this life so that they will WANT to spend Eternity with you."
There is a story about a woman named Cornelia Africana who is considered the perfect example of a virtuous woman. When women questioned Cornelia about her mode of dress and personal adornment, which was far more simple and understated than was usual for a wealthy Roman woman of her rank and station, Cornelia indicated her children and said, "These are my jewels."
As I am sitting here with my son asking me to try his pretend pizza he made in his pretend stove, and Maya trying to climb up my legs to sit on my lap, I am reminded, "These are my jewels." They are what life is made of, and they bring me joy.
And before I end my post, here is a little fact to make you glad you have 1, 2, 3, or 6 kids and not as many as this woman had. We really don't have it so bad!
The highest officially recorded number of children born to one mother is 69, to the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) of Shuya, Russia. Between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 confinements, she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. 67 of them survived infancy.
Currently, I am reading "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura. The book is really putting things in perspective for me. It is very true that if Mom isn't happy, nobody's happy. It's our responsibility to make sure that we are being as pleasant as we can around our husbands and family. If it means taking a nap, or asking for someone to watch the kids for an hour so you can have alone time, so be it. We determine the atmosphere in our own homes. I do not know where this quote came from, but it enters my mind daily. It says something to the effect of "Care and love your family in this life so that they will WANT to spend Eternity with you."
There is a story about a woman named Cornelia Africana who is considered the perfect example of a virtuous woman. When women questioned Cornelia about her mode of dress and personal adornment, which was far more simple and understated than was usual for a wealthy Roman woman of her rank and station, Cornelia indicated her children and said, "These are my jewels."
As I am sitting here with my son asking me to try his pretend pizza he made in his pretend stove, and Maya trying to climb up my legs to sit on my lap, I am reminded, "These are my jewels." They are what life is made of, and they bring me joy.
And before I end my post, here is a little fact to make you glad you have 1, 2, 3, or 6 kids and not as many as this woman had. We really don't have it so bad!
The highest officially recorded number of children born to one mother is 69, to the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782) of Shuya, Russia. Between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 confinements, she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets. 67 of them survived infancy.
6 comments:
Thank you Brandy for sharing those thoughts....
Georgie
Brandi, I love you... What a great woman you are!!!
Dad!!!
Thanks Brandi - we all need that gentle reminder.....about what is most important in our lifes (our family!!) ....
Wow - really - 69 kids? That is totally amazing!!! I can't even imagine taking care of all of them........ Can you imagine dinner time? That thought overwhelms me! Hey - I've started my blogspot back up - with password protection - or whatever it is. It's the same address as before. Have fun camping this weekend..... Julie B.
Alright, I am afraid that I am going to have to be the Walmart lady on this one. Although I love most everything that you said on your post, there is one thing that I cannot agree with. I want to burn that, in my opinion, very stupid Dr. Laura book. I would like to know where the book the proper care and feelings of wives is. There are two sides to every coin. Sorry Brandi, just had to get that out of my system. Other than that, I loved what you shared on your post.
Really, Lila? I'm surprised! If you have read the book, I think you would have a different view. She actually addressed that same question on her radio show last week. She said she gets asked that question all of the time. Ask yourself, honestly, if your husband went to the moon and back for you, and you had a horrible day and were in a bad mood, if the fact that he had done that for you would make a difference. I would have to say no. Men are simple! They only need to feel loved, appreciated, and fed. REALLY!! I have tried the things in her book, and I am sad to say that I am really at fault for any problems that we have had in our marriage. There are, of course, other circumstances where you marry "a bad man" as she would say, and the things in her book are null and void.
It really is a book more about how to be a happier wife so that your family benefits from it. Not so much how to serve your husband from sun up to sun down just because he's a man. I think that you may have misunderstood what the book is about. It's tried and true in my house!!
Oh, One more thing...since I am finding that there are quite a few people who don't like the TITLE of the Dr. Laura book, here's something to think about:
If the title read "The Proper Care and Feeding of Children", we would not have any problem with it. We buy books all the time about how to take care of our children, but when someone suggests a book on how to care for the man we married, it's a problem. Just something to think about... I have a VERY strong opinion on this and could really go on forever, but I won't.
Lila, I totally appreciate your comment and your opinion. Thanks for sharing it. I just wanted everyone who has the same feelings as you to be able to see my point of view and where I am coming from.
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