My husband grew up on a small family farm.  He would wake up at five in the morning to pick corn with his siblings.  Needless to say, my husband knows how to work!

We surely don’t have acres of corn, but we have a small family garden in our yard.  Like anything, it is alot of work.  It is so fun to be working out there as a family.  Matt and I pull weeds while the kids help along side of us.  I have to remind my husband to keep it fun!  They get distracted and start tossing dirt balls to see who can throw them the furthest.  Then they get hot and go get water, then they are riding around on their scooters…..while we pull the weeds.

I truly don’t mind.  I love that they want to be out there with us.  I don’t want to be yelling at them to work.  I want it to be a fun memory filled with working together, sweating together, eating popsicles together and getting in water fights together.

Another aspect of our garden that I love is having the kids watch and help plant a seed and watching it grow.  It is quite amazing that you can plant a seed in the soil and carrots form, bright beautiful tomatoes start bursting from the vines and watermelons start as a tiny little ball.  It is a miraculous thing for a child to see.

Not only is our garden a source of family together time, hard work and feelings of accomplishment.  It brings us tasty cucumbers and crunchy peppers.  It teaches the kids that hard work brings a VERY positive result.

What are some things you do as a family that fosters family together time and hard work?

I think I had grand plans to have some type of schedule this summer!   My kids really do thrive on a schedule.  Unfortunately, it seems that every other week we have visitors or are traveling.  By the time I get us all ‘back to normal,’ normal is thrown off another week.

I am a very scheduled mother.  Unfortunately, I am learning otherwise.  I think being a mom teaches you to roll with the punches.  Maybe I have this perfect week planned out, then someone gets sick or just needs time at home.  Whatever the case may be, I am learning to take things a day at a time.  I am learning to chill a little more and listen to the needs of my kids.

An example of this was last week.  My husband signed our tween up for baseball camp.  It was hot as blazes and he was one of the older boys at the camp.  He wasn’t learning anything new and was bored learning to play baseball when he already plays quite well.  I listened to him explain how he felt about this and didn’t make him go back.  I totally understood where he was coming from.  I ‘rolled with the punches’ and made the best choice for my tween.

Learning to be a little more laid back has definitely been a learning process for me as a mom.  Like anything else in motherhood, each new day is an adventure and a learning experience AND a marathon to keep up with it all.

Is your summer turning out just how you expected it or are you having to step back and just relax a little?

Last week the weather was so beautiful!   I went on my usual morning run with my neighbor.  After we finished our workout, we were chatting in the driveway.  The kids were thirsty so they turned on the hose to get a drink….the hose stayed on…..they enjoyed splashing in the cool water!!  They got lost in kid land and about three hours later I made them come inside.  They had the most fun morning ever! 

 We have a small plot of land where we plant our garden and we haven’t planted it yet this year.  They filled the garden up with water.  They dug big holes, filled the holes with water and plopped their little baby sister in the little mud pools they created.  They made a trench and filled it with water.  They pulled out their boogy boards and made a homemade ‘mud’ slip ‘n slide that sent them sailing through the muddy water. 

During all this fun, I sat and watched and smiled….smiled because this is what I feel like life is about!!  It is about kids being outside, getting dirty, being creative, laughing and being together!! 

For me, motherhood can be pretty monotonous……it is in these moments, when I see my kids HAPPY and FREE that I feel that deep sense of joy and fulfillment in motherhood.  It is a joy that is felt by every mother and it is in those moments when it is all worth it……….all the diapers, all the headaches, all the sleepless nights, all the worrying, all the stress, all the money……….all those things are so worth those moments of pure JOY!!  Aren’t WE lucky!!??