Where have I been?

Some of my sweetest friends have been asking that question.  Well,  I've been busy.  Being a mommy.  Being a teacher.  Being a wife.  But mostly, being a daughter.. of God.  I've been struggling to keep my focus on God for the past couple of months.  It just tends to happen and I fight it like a cat with a sock on it's head.  The Christmas season, which usually distracts people from God (towards selfishness), has actually helped me focus MORE on Christ and His birth.  I've realized that I have all I'll ever need because He's supplied it.  I have MORE than most people.  I was able to conceive and carry two BEAUTIFUL and healthy children.  So many struggle daily to get pregnant.  I have two parents who loved each other and never split up.  I'm becoming a minority in that fact.  I have a house, and a closet full of clothes, where so many don't have a JACKET.  I have food in my cabinets and when my kids ask me for a snack they have HUNDREDS of options, and so many are starving.
Chad and I went shopping last night and realized that our kids are so blessed.  And so are we.  We can buy them gifts.  This year we went shopping for an angel tree kid.  And I wanted my kids to realize that we are so blessed and should help others.  But I think it taught me more.  That I shouldn't JUST be teaching them to give because we can.  We should give because it's what God asks us to do.  It's what he commands us to do.. if we love him.  My daughter found such joy in us helping an older man get into his car the other night.  She went on and on about how happy and sad it made her feel.
I've watched my daughter perform in a Christmas program (with one more to come) and I can't describe the feeling I get from watching her praise God.  I wonder if this is how God feels when He sees us.  I feel like I'm about to BURST and implode from the inside out to watch her.  I wonder if God tears up when I dance and sing like her.. each Sunday morning.  Prideful tears- in awe that she's mine.
I've watched Tyler lately and I understand that his heart is so Christlike.  He would give away ANYthing I give him, if he thought it would make someone else smile.  He tells me constantly, with his arms wrapped tightly around me, that he loves me.  He means it.  We as mommies get neglected.  I'm sure it's not on purpose.  But I realize now that God tells me how much He loves me through these moments of reflection.
My prayer everyday is that I can be what God wants me to be for each person who enters my life.  My biggest responsibility is with my children.  Pray for me and with me.. and don't worry, I cover all mommies in my prayers too... that we'll be godly and willing examples to God's love.  We're going to stumble.. but we've got each other to hold onto, right?