"The mom stays in the picture"

To all moms.

If you read nothing else in your lifetime (besides God's scriptures), please, please, puhlease, read this:

"The mom stays in the picture"



I can't expound too much, because she says it so perfectly.  But.  I always have something to say.

We send messages to our kids all the time.  Intentionally and not intentionally.  They're always watching.  Always listening.  And always paying attention whether we think they are or not.  They say moms have eyes on the back of their heads.  Well kids have ears on every inch of their body.  And eyes that see and then mimic what they see.

What is the message we send to our kids, girls and boys, when we won't get in pictures?  How do they interpret that?  

We tell them to love themselves.  To be happy with who they are.  To know they are a literal child of God and their soul is worth something.  We say, say say.  Tell, tell, tell.  But what do we DO?  What do our actions say to our kids?  Because that's where they're getting the real message.  From what I do. Not usually what I say.

I get it.  It's not always fun to be in a picture.  Especially when we're tired, bloated, feeling gross, and on and on and on.  For me, I don't love asking other people to take a picture of me.  I just don't.  It feels weird and kind of embarrassing (even if it's my own husband).  "Hey, I'm awesome, take a picture of me."  But I'm getting SO much better at it.  Because I think it is so so so important for our kids to see pictures of us.  WITH them.  Being a part of their lives.  No matter how we look or feel.  Because they don't care.  They just want us.  Just the way we are.

And some of us allllll by ourselves.  Doing nothing.  Or doing things we love!  So our kids can see we are people to.  And we like to DO things.

(this was my very first time waterskiing, thus the "holy crap I'm going to die" face)

And now that nearly all of us have smart phones with built in cameras and self-timers, there's NO excuse!!  Stay in the picture moms!!!