I was looking through some old posts and came across this one that I wrote for Ashley’s 10 in 10 series a year and a half ago. This post was pre-Griffin and Levi was just a baby himself. It is crazy how different life is now! I hope you enjoy this oldie. Have a great weekend!
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Do you have a little helper around your house? I do. His name is Levi. Levi is nine months old and he *thinks* he can help his mama with everything. It seems he is always by my side. And if he is not by my side, he is sitting on my feet, crawling up my pant leg, or wiping Cheerio slobber on the shoulder of my clean shirt. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As moms we often long for a little time to ourselves or even just an hour of quiet. I do too (because I’m only human you know). But over the past two years I have learned a lot about cherishing the everyday moments. There are amazing moments like when I first heard the words ma-ma again…this time coming out of Levi’s mouth. There are difficult moments like when my little guy decided that standing up in his crib and screaming was more fun than taking naps. And there are moments that can be exhausting, like when my helper comes along and whatever I am trying to do takes twice as long. But, these are the moments I love. The everyday moments.
So in sticking with Ashley’s 10 in 10 theme, I thought I’d let you peek into some of our everyday moments to see ten ways my little guy is so helpful…
He helps me wake up in the morning–sometimes a little earlier than I had planned. But, I would rather wake up to this sweet face peeking through the slats of his crib over the annoying beeping of an alarm clock any day.
He helps me get ready. No long, relaxing showers for this mama. Can you relate? My little guy is usually at my feet as I scramble to find ways to keep him busy and try to fix my desperately needing to be washed hair.
He helps me do the dishes. I think Levi is as amazed by our new dishwasher as I am. Yes, having a dishwasher is a new thing for us. I just have to be careful not to wash his toys along with the dishes!
He helps me feel like an amazing cook. This is the face I get when his bowl is empty. Apparently the way I prepare his squash is so fantastic that he wants more ALL THE TIME. Or else he is just a really hungry little big boy!
He helps me in the yard. Levi LOVES to be outside. And he loves to crawl around and pick up anything he can find. I am suddenly becoming a pro at digging things out of his mouth…and prying dirt out from under his fingernails. He is all boy.
He helps me put away his clothes. Sometimes I end up refolding the clothes three times. Sometimes we end up with a bigger mess than we started with. But we have fun doing something mundane together.
He helps keep me company in the car. I love peeking over my shoulder and seeing his eyes peering around his car seat when I am talking to him. He is a great traveling buddy.
He helps me do the grocery shopping. I’m pretty sure he likes Walmart more than I do. And usually by the time we make it back to the front of the store, he has managed to eat my grocery list. Nice.
He helps me keep his daddy entertained in the evenings. I think they are going to be good buddies. And pretty soon I am going to have to watch out because now I have two ornery boys in the house.
He helps bring me to my knees. Being a mom is one of the most challenging yet amazing jobs I have ever had. And there is nothing like a child to cause you to fall on your knees at the feet of our Heavenly Father pleading for help. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with my responsibility as a mom. It is a job that no matter how good my intentions, or how hard I try, I can’t do on my own. I will get tired. I will get frustrated. I will mess up. I need the help of my Heavenly Father. And I need it everyday.
I lift my eyes to the hills–
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2
Our children are an incredible gift, entrusted to us by the Lord. Will you seek His help today for whatever challenges you are facing with your little ones? And as Ashley reminded us a few weeks ago, don’t forget to celebrate the everyday mundane moments.
Stef - I love your peace and contentment, Jess. You’ve been such an inspiring blessing to me.
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Mum2twopreciousgifts - I have an 8 year old and a 5 year old that need to burn energy. Just wishing I could send them your way for a day to help Levi pull weeds.
Beautiful pics Jess.
p.s. I wish I was young enough to bend over to pull out weeds without saying ‘ouch’ and grabbing my back!
M x
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DianeTaylor - I hear you, Jess – I cannot imagine how hard that must have been for you and Joel.
Dear Levi: thank you for helping your mamma and daddy in their gardens. If you have any extra energy and want to come to Baltimore, I have a beautiful memorial garden, complete with a granite stone bearing my son’s name. It has LOTS of weeds – can you come pull some out for me?
Thank you!
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Sarah - Love the pictures of him in the cornfield. True farm boy. My mother-in-law likes to tell the story of a time when my husband went out to pull weeds in the garden and he pulled all the tomato plants also.
Sarah @ This Farm Family’s life
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Heather - Thanks for the post, Jess. I have a 9.5 yo and an 8 yo (both girls) and sometimes I wish I could come home to peace and quiet (these girl talk non-stop) and then I read one of your posts and I remember that coming home to peace and quiet will be a reality for me all too soon….so instead I soak in the chatter and I smile, knowing this will only last awhile, and when it is gone…I will miss it so.
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Lyssa at Living Simple in the South - Great post, love it! Glad you got some time to yourself to strengthen your perspective! IT always helps me to get out and come back with fresh eyes! Levi is adorable…those rubber boots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Creole Wisdom - Your perspective is so wonderful. I love your gratitude.
Levi is so cute! The corn does look pretty good 🙂
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Cristin - Ahhh! Too bad you live so far away. My little guy has a farmer daddy too and loves to be outside. I think my Avery and your Levi would be great friends!
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Laura - He’s so precious!!
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We4Kingz - Absolutely precious!!! He will be a good farmer one day. 🙂
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Sarah - I have a 4 year old who has tons of energy to burn, wish you were closer so I could bring her over and the little boys could have a play date.
Guess I should teach her to pull the weeds in our yard and let her do that every morning, maybe she’d actually nap. … probably not though.
As a woman and as a mother, you are an inspiration.
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Margaret - Levi is so cute! He is so serious about his jobs! Good perspective on a Mom’s life. Glad you have these boys in your life, but I am sure there is always the thoughts about Cora.
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Mindee@ourfrontdoor - Everything about this post makes me smile. 🙂
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Anonymous - If we didn’t live in Colorado, I would send my 2 year old, Drake, right over to help little Levi!
~Melissa
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Kimberly - Jess, I love hearing stories about your sweet boys. Reminds me of the days, long ago, when my boys were little. Glad you made it home safe & sound! 🙂
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Andrea {kerubo mama} - These pictures are stunning (especially that first one!)
Your beautiful heart puts a lot of things into perspective for me. xoxo
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Unknown - God used your words to speak right to my heart this morning! With 4 litle ones ages 6,5,4 and 9 mths its hard to not feel overwhelmed and just desire time alone with peace & quiet. I must remember to instead be thankful for the blessings He has so graciously given me-and to lean on Him. Thank you for your gentle reminder. You are truly a precious woman wife and mother.
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Suzanne - I am so sorry for the hard times, and I am so happy for the good times!! I love the little weed-puller in his little boots. So cute! He is going to have Griffin out there helping him soon!
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Bryn Bird - We are farmers too but produce farmers. You should see the 4, 3, and 2 year old out there in the strawberry field. We have about 60,000 plants and they are SO good at knowing what is the strawberry and what is a weed. Last week we sent them out for 2 hours!!! I loved going over and listening to the 4 year old say, “Honey, I found a big weed for you over here!” to her sister and her saying, “Oh sweetie that is big!” They were like little old ladies gossiping away!
Farm kids get the best little life.
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Rich and Carolyn Dewey - Good work Joel and Jess! Love that he’s a weed puller already!!! :)) You have two precious little boys.
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Auntie EM - I have never lost a child (thank God because the only way I got to be a mom was to adopt my one and only son) but I do know the loneliness and quiet after my husband passed away 3 years ago. Oh, those quiet evenings….no one sitting on the bench to greet me when I came home….no one to laugh and be silly with….no one to talk to….it still makes tears come way too quickly. But the quiet didn’t last too long. My son, my daughter-in-law, and my darling sweet 2-year-old grandson live with me now. JOY beyond words to have them so close in my life right now. I’m so glad you have your two sons. I can tell they bring you so much joy in spite of your hardest loss ever. Cora is smiling down at her brothers and her parents and I think she is very happy that you are happy. Your boys are just so darn cute!!
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Katie Smith - Love this post… what a cutie!
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Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - OH Jess. That last picture of Levi is so precious. I wish I could send Nate out there to burn some energy!
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