Every Mom Needs A....

..mother's helper! Of course, I already have six of these precious blessings living with me, but I'm actually referring to something slightly different. I have personally been blessed to have six more mother's helpers in my life, coming from three different families, the Allisons, the Heckendorns, and the Spencers. Each of these families has two lovely, older daughters who have blessed me with their time and talents when I've needed them. This past weekend, while my Mountain Men were away, the delightful Spencer girls spent time with us, helping me tackle those many jobs that never seem to get done!

Marissa came over on Friday and cheerfully worked alongside me and played with the children.
We got quite a list of things done, and I felt a weight lifted by the time she had left. We managed to:

~unpack and put away the girls' fall clothes and pack away the summer and spring outfits
~move Boo's clothing, which was in our room, to her own room
~sort through and dispose of puzzles with missing pieces
~enjoy a lovely lunch together
~straighten up the Master Bedroom
~have playtime with the Littles (Marissa did this by herself while I finished up some things. Just knowing that Little Bit wasn't eating toothpaste or clogging up the toilet was a huge help!:))

They couldn't get enough of their time with her. Sadly, I don't have one single picture of her time with us because the Mountain Men had the camera (how difficult it was to not have my camera for 5 days! I'm quite spoiled by instant pictures!)

Caity joined us on Saturday, with camera in tow! So, we took a few pictures of our adventures. While I ran a few errands, Caity and the Littles whipped up this beautiful batch of my favorite scones...chocolate chip toffee..Mmm! I even have extras waiting in the freezer for me, thanks to Caity's willingness to double the recipe.

Well, any mother knows that if you give your Littles scones, they'll want a tea party. So, after lunch, that's what we did, fine china and all. I was so thrilled with the extra help that I shocked the Littles when I told them they could have TWO scones, without even the slightest hesitation.

We also tackled my ever-growing magazine basket and managed to clear it out by two-thirds. Caity had playtime with the Littles, and then, as I thought she was heading home, she generously offered to help me get the car cleaned out. I think she felt sorry for this big-bellied Mama, knowing I'd have a difficult time getting to those back seats and realizing the vacuum needed to be used with more strength than the Littles could offer. Here she is with Boo, cheerfully cleaning up our dirt.
Why is all of this such a blessing to Moms?
~you tackle those never-ending jobs that you just don't seem to have time for
~You're humbled by having others come in and see you in "real life" (dirty vans and all!)
~you hopefully encourage these young ladies in the blessing of family life
~you benefit from the youth and energy that you often don't have as a Mom with Littles..these older girls just come in and start working...no task seems too big or overwhelming!
How can the daughters who are helping benefit?
~they see the different ways families function
~they can sharpen their skills of servanthood
~they can see the imperfections of other Moms and hopefully be encouraged when they face their own challenging days of Motherhood
~they can delight in knowing they've blessed a Mom beyond measure as they've joyfully helped her while being Godly examples to the Littles
The list goes on and on, but I'm so grateful to the Moms of these beautiful daughters who have unselfishly shared them and have taught them the importance of serving others. I look forward to the day when my own daughters, Whistler, Boo, Little Bit, and Next Girl, can cheerfully bless another Mom, helping her not grow weary in doing good.