Heidi Bruder

I’m sure this list will be ever expanding, but here are some things I’ve learned since becoming a mom (in no particular order)….

1.  How busy life is with boys…no piece of furniture is safe.  In most cases it is either a trampoline or a hurdle.
2.  That my children teach me a magnitude about faith, love and trust.
3.  That each day I’d learn what it means to die to self and put the needs of someone else before mine.
4.  That my swiffer is also a guitar, race car, and fire hose.
5.  The meaning and sheer depth of unconditional love.
6.  That somehow at the end of the most difficult day, I can look back and find reasons to smile.
7.  That I could fall even more in love with my husband as I watch him wrestle, build and play with the boys.
8.  How eerie, humbling and sometimes convicting it is to see my “isms” reflected in my boys.
9.  That my every move is watched and mimicked…especially when I least realize it.
10.  That anything of substantial height is a mountain needing to be scaled.
11.  That parenting really is the toughest job I could ever love.
12.  The feeling in my heart when two big blue eyes look up at me and impulsively say, “I love you, Mom” or “You’re the best mom in the world.”
13.  That I don’t have all the “answers” for being a mom.
14.  The number of hours I would spend pretending to be someone I am not (Dora, Wendy from Bob the Builder, Princess Presto and Wonder Red to name a few…)
16.  How astounding it is to see faith develop in my children.
17.  That one of my best role models of perseverance and resilience would be found in my 11-month-old son as he learns to walk.
18.  That my Mission Field would begin in my own home and go out from there.
19.  The power of touch.
20.  That sometimes all I can do is pray. (And if I only realized this sooner, the day would be a lot better off!)
21.  That my children can be prayer warriors.
22. The depth of which my heart would ache when my child is hurting.
23. What it means to have “faith like a child.”
24. That I wish life had a “pause” button.