Driving through the maze of crowds, and bumper to bumper traffic during the Christmas holidays was a true test of my mama patience. I had an agenda and evidently the world did not know what it was because everything was slow on this particular day.

My boy’s chatter, loud noises and vying for attention was particularly irritating when I was stuck in a traffic jam with time ticking away. 

 “Mama, he hit me.”

“No I didn’t, I just tapped him.”

“You did not, you hit me!”

Finally, we got off the freeway, made it to the main intersection of the mall I was seeking, when Joel piped up, “Mama, look at the poor man with one leg and one crutch. He has a sign that says ‘I’m hungry!’. Don’t you think since it is Christmas, we should stop and get him something to eat?”

Much like you, I have deep desires for my two girls. I yearn for them to experience WHO I know vs WHAT I know. I have noticed my children learn so much quicker through laughter (experiences) over lectures.

As we rush around town and pick up gifts and head to the next party, here are 5 things I want my girls to experience this upcoming holiday season.  Try some with me!

Why I'm Giving Gifts to My Children This Christmas

His eyes are the eyes of a thousand sleepless nights and I’ve never seen such shadows on a four-year-old boy. “Who is that?” I whisper to Trent while the children’s choir sings and the church is decked out in holly and ivy and Jesus in a manger.

“That’s one of the *Fritz boys,” he tells me, and I turn back to the boy with the tired eyes and I’m crying. He and his brothers and sisters lost their mama recently, and mothers make Christmas, and I want to run up front and pick them up and rock them happy. Forever.

As we're coming up on our final shopping days before Christmas, I wanted to share with you some stocking stuffer or small gift ideas for the girlfriends, teachers or family members in your life! (Or ya know, maybe to slip into your own stocking as well!) 

These products are tried, tested and beauty blogger approved, and will most definitely make the perfect little gift for the ones you love!

Here at The Better Mom our passion is to encourage and affirm women in their role as a mother by sharing testimonies, providing resources, and extending hope to all those in need. And if we are being completely honest all moms are in need of these things on a regular basis. We are all on our own unique journey, yet we all can relate to the truth that parenting is a challenge as well as a great reward!

"Sometimes I feel like I'm failing because I'm not joyful all the time." This was written to me by a friend of mine in a Facebook message, but I could have written it myself.

I think perhaps I tend to think of joy as "happiness" but it's not. There are many times when I'm honestly not exactly sure what joy looks/feels like.

Lately, however, as I combat an underlying spirit of anger and anxiety, I'm asking God more and more to show me what true joy is, because I'm obviously confused.