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A Bundle of Myrrh

"My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh." Song of Solomon 1:13

>Silly Lily.

September 4th, 2009 by Aubri

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Where does this child come from? Oh yeah, she’s Phil’s.


Inspecting the pantry to let me know what we’re out of.

Well, she’s 13 1/2 months old and still no top teeth. I have to say it, she looks a little funny. She looks like a little girl, then she opens her mouth and she’s 3 months old again.

Pigtails today.

And big girl jeans from Grandmere. So cute, but no scoot. She had a hard time getting around on her bottom in these and kept tugging on them, so alas, I took them off. They’ll be better when she’s a full time walker.

Aaaaa! Where’d my baby go??!!

Living the dream.

September 4th, 2009 by Aubri

I’m reading a blog a stay at home mom in MT keeps. She posted one of her reasons for blogging;

“I would like to encourage other homemakers in their chosen vocation and even provide a few laughs when appropriate. Hopefully I’ll even be able to convince some skeptics that some people, at least, can be happy and fulfilled as a homemaker/stay at home mom and be quite different from the unfortunate stereotype of either a bon-bon eating, cheap romance reading, lazy, wimp lolling around home all day while her husband labors at his chosen career; or a brow-beaten, uneducated, harried wife trying to care for unruly children while her husband is off enjoying himself. Perhaps that language is a bit strong. However, I hope that I fit in neither category (even remotely). I am thrilled to be living my dream of being a wife and mother, and I love my job. It is so fulfilling.”

I think she has a wonderful goal. She sounds very happy. I was both chagrined and curious about her apparent contentment. I have to admit I am more often than not that “brow-beaten, harried wife” she condemns and actually bon-bons don’t sound too bad if I had them. But I’m frustrated with myself, with the sinner I face everyday. I do have my “dream job”. I am “living the dream”. Being a wife and mother is all I ever wanted to be. But even so I find many ways to be so unhappy, so “unfulfilled”, not “loving my job”. Of course my flesh doesn’t want me to be content, doesn’t want me to find joy in the blessings I have. Being a wife is hard, being a mother is hard, managing a home is hard. The hardships often blind me from the fact that I’m fulfilling a divine call and that I’ve been so blessed with a loving, responsible, wise husband and two beautiful, sweet little girls. I am so thankful to be living my “dream” and I do find all the fulfillment I’ll ever find in this life in doing this but I’m not always “thrilled” about it. I’m more thrilled that God helps me to faithfully daily fulfill the duties He has given me and knowing that I am absolutely fulfilling His “will for my life” and that He has given me such a precious family to give my life to, to live out my days in faithfulness to and to love abundantly until I leave this life and find everlasting fulfillment.

Getting stuff done.

September 2nd, 2009 by Aubri

Why does it surprise me when something finally “dawns” on me? I’ve been a mama for 13 months now, seems like a long time, but boy am I still a “newbie”. Of course I’m still gonna have to figure things out! It’s just odd that something so simple that would have been so helpful all along failed to come to mind, then one day it does. I suppose that’s why our mamas are the experts we turn to for everything. They’ve been mamas for a long time and had their little “epiphanies” long ago.

In an attempt to keep our house clean PC (pre-Clara) I was dividing up the tasks a little bit each day. Tuesdays “Floor” days (mopping, vacuuming), Wednesdays “Laundry” etc. But the problem has been missing a day, then I tend to get all backed up and inevitably the bathrooms or our bedroom does not get cleaned…for weeks, okay, months. Now that I’m a little busier I’m still trying to stick to that schedule but way less actually gets done. I’ve got a long list of things that I “will get to” that never get gotten to. I just feel so much better when the house is neater and I know the floors and bathrooms are clean. Unfortunately I have to pick what gets cleaned and what can wait. Thus the build up. So I’ve finally asked Leanna to watch the girls for me once a week for a few hours while I get these done. It just doesn’t work if I try during nap time.
Today was the first day Leanna came to watch the girls. I did get some stuff done, but I think it will be better if she takes them to her house next week. I’m so thankful to have someone so near by that loves my babies like a grandma and is willing and able to help me out anytime I need her. The Munderlohs are such a blessing to both me and Phil.

Working Mother.

August 19th, 2009 by Aubri

It’s frustrating that the term ‘working mother’ is typically only applied to mother’s with jobs outside of the home. Aren’t all mothers ‘working mothers’? A stay at home mom doesn’t have a 9-5 job in an office somewhere, but she does have a “job”. I often think being a stay-at-home-mom is like running a daycare, a cleaning service and a cafeteria at the same time…without your two 15 minute smoke breaks…and some days don’t we all need a smoke break!? Ok, maybe not a nasty cig, but that sweet cup of coffee and scheduled 15 minutes of silence would be super.

Here’s part of an interesting article I found:

What mothers are really worth
Stay-at-home mothers wear many hats. They’re the family CEO, the day care provider, accountant, chauffeur, counselor, chef, nurse, laundress, entertainer, personal stylist, and educator. Based on a 90-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be well over $90,000 for executing all of her daily tasks. Factor in overtime, and the appropriate salary takes a leap of around $25,000.

“Mothers are responsible for the mental and physical well being of the family – putting a price on that isn’t easy,” said Lena Bottos, compensation market analyst for Salary.com. “But we looked at it as what you would have to pay other people to do the same work if the mom weren’t there.”

Even if these mothers were getting paid what they’d be worth on the market, Bottos added that they still wouldn’t be adequately compensated. “When you take into account that it represents a 90-hour workweek, and doesn’t even begin to factor in that they are on call 24 hours a day, it’s not so large. Plus, stay-at-home moms get no benefits in terms of pension or 401(k).”