This is our second post for Build ‘Em Up and today’s topic is “The Joy of Playing With Your Kids.” So link up, visit each other’s posts, and visit Kelly, Courtney, and Jennifer today!

I think this is one of my favorite things about being a mom. I absolutely love playing with my kids.

But sometimes the day gets in the way. The to-do list. The laundry, the cleaning, the dogs needing to be fed or walked, and dinner needs to be cooked. The phone is ringing, texts are coming in, emails need to be answered.

And there’s my sweet little Hudson, saying, “Mommy, can you play with me?”

Sometimes just the little request from a sweet little voice is all I need to drop whatever I’m doing in that moment and forget everything except what he and his brother want me to do. For a little while. Ha!

Life is distracting. I wish we could all be completely devoted to our children with no other responsibilities or distractions, but it’s just not that way.

So, now I try to carve out little chunks of time to play with them. Sometimes individually, but most of the time together. I may have to referee them to get them back on track.

In my early years as a mother, I played so much with Hudson. It was just the two of us. We were constantly reading, singing songs, working puzzles, and learning. I was teaching him and he’d soak it all up like a sponge. He’d repeat every single thing I said to him.

Sure, we had our fair share of distractions, and I didn’t spend the entire day playing with him, but we had a lot of uninterrupted time together.

After Hayes was born, I spent a lot of time feeling bad that I couldn’t give Hudson my undivided attention, and as Hayes got older, I felt bad that I couldn’t give him the kind of undivided attention that Hudson had at his age. They weren’t yet playing with the same things and there was still the housework and the emails and the dogs.

But as they’ve gotten older, and Hayes has gotten closer to Hudson’s age, we’re back at the point where we just play together. We play hard! We wrestle, and chase, and run, and play with balls.

We build castles, forts, and race tracks. We construct barns and zoos and all of the animals come over to play.

My little boys aren’t real big into make believe. (Thank goodness, because I’m not very good at make believe.) Everything is pretty much black and white with them. And they play hard!

Since moving into Nana’s house, a lot of those household duties aren’t here for me. It’s not my home. We help with the upkeep of the home, of course, but there’s not constantly stuff to tend to.

And I consider this a major blessing for one simple reason. It’s given me so much more time to play with my kids.

We love to be outside learning how to play soccer. We ride bikes. And sometimes I just sit on the floor with them while they watch a movie. I love this little age, and I love to play with them. It keeps me young. It keeps me in tune with what they like to do. What they’re saying and what they’re learning.

I also really appreciate their independence, and that they can and will play without me. Sometimes they just need a little dose of mommy. They need a lap to sit in, or someone to help them build the race track so they can push the car down the track. They need a little bit of redirection to stop fighting and start playing again.

But what is better than a sweet little request from your little boy? “Mommy, will you please play with me?”

Of course I will!

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*This is the first post in a new link-up series called Build ‘Em Up. I’m participating with Kelly from Kelly’s Korner, Jennifer from Life in the Green House and Courtney from Little Light O’ Mine. I want to encourage you to visit their blogs today, too, to see how they’re encouraging you and to write your own post and link up with us. If you link up on one of our blogs, it will show up on all four blogs.

I was raised in a home of believers. My mom and dad instilled in me a very firm foundation for my faith. I committed my life to Christ at a young age, and as I grew older, I became distracted. My faith was always there in the back of my mind, but unless I went on a mission trip or to church camp, I wasn’t always right where I needed to be.

When I became a mother, I realized more than ever my deep need for my Savior.

As I was faced with lonely days and temper tantrums, I realized I couldn’t get through these days- the good and the bad- without drawing near to the Lord each day.

And there has been nothing quite like motherhood to show me how my “fruit” needs strengthening each day. I lose my patience, I’m not always kind, I don’t always show self control, and my words are not always loving.

I’ve been given this gift, and this incredible responsibility, of raising two precious children who were created in God’s image.

There will be days when I will fail. I pray each day that I can always show them and teach them as much about Jesus as I can. And I recognize that they will learn more about Jesus through my actions rather than my words.

For me, this means daily efforts (and I do mean a LOT of effort) to remember to have my quiet time so I can start or end my day in conversation and in communion with my Savior. It’s taking time to reflect, to listen, and to praise Him.

It also means doing my best to surround myself with friends who build me up.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

I try to show my kids as much of Jesus as I can through my works and my actions and my words. But the biggest thing for us is just how God comes into our family and our decisions. Todd and I know that we’re responsible for showing our boys what faith means.

We let our boys hear our prayers in the hard times and the good times. We read them Bible stories and try to bring those lessons from the stories into our every day life.

For me, it takes effort every single day. In the midst of laundry, tantrums, cooking, running back and forth, kissing boo boos and breaking up fights, I have to remember to stop and be in conversation with the Lord.

People often ask me about different books, Bible studies, ways to pray, etc. And the truth is, those things are useful and are all little seedlings along the way to growing in that relationship with the Lord. But being a Bible scholar or having the most eloquent words in a prayer aren’t the things that matter to Him most. He just wants my heart.

My faith comes to life through my family as we look around and see the many blessings we have and thank Him for never leaving us or forsaking us.

Many days go by when I don’t get to do my quiet time. Sometimes I do all of my daily Bible study “homework” all in one night because I didn’t make time to do it every day of the week. Some nights I go to bed and beat myself up over the rotten day we had and the way I reacted, and then realize that I hadn’t been in prayer at all that day.

But I give myself grace, and talk to Him the way I would talk to a friend. Because those reminders that He is with me through each little moment pull me closer and closer to Him.

And those little seeds are sprouting in Hudson and Hayes. Their nightly prayers, their compassion for others, and their young love for Jesus encourage me to keep doing what I’m doing. No matter how imperfect it is.

I’d love to hear how you are bringing your faith to life. What does that look like for you?

(If you are interested, my favorite daily devotional is Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. We also read Jesus Calling for Kids to the boys, though it’s a little over their heads right now. Hudson loves The Beginner’s Bible by ZonderKids.)

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve been brainstorming with Kelly (from Kelly’s Korner), Jennifer (from Life in the Green House) and Courtney (from Lil Light O’ Mine) about a new link up and writing opportunity for bloggers, mothers, wives, sisters, and anyone who needs a little bit of encouragement.

These bloggers have all encouraged me with their hearts for their families, for other moms, and their ability to share their stories with honesty and love.

I’m so excited to share with you today a project called “Build ‘Em Up.”

Blogging about life and writing our story sometimes seems lost in a sea of negativity.

A storm of unruly toddlers, a stack of messy dishes, laundry rooms that bid us to shut the door, rather than come inside. We’ve all been there. Life is messy at times. I’m afraid that we’ve somehow magnified the messy and allowed it to overshadow our joy. Being a mother, a wife, a friend, a co-worker each have tough moments, but if we are willing to look closely we will see that those moments are few, and pale in comparison to the blessings each role brings us.

Motherhood is a blessing and the hardest job you will ever have. There will always be places we can turn to talk about the “negative parts” of motherhood but we want to shed light and encourage. We want to help all of us be part of a sisterhood. We want to drop the judgment and build each other up.

Will you join us in committing to write about the good? To break the misconception that good equals perfect, and to seek out the meaningful even in the midst of the mundane. Please join us.

Every other week we will have topics that pertain to being a wife or mother (or even for those who aren’t in that stage but one day might be). We would love for you to link up as we talk about all aspects of motherhood and life as we want to strive to be an encouragement to each other. We are all in this together – so let’s build each other up!

This is just the first schedule of topics that we’ll be writing about and hoping that you’ll write, too, and share your story with all of us.

March 12- Bringing Faith to Life
March 26- The Joy of Playing With Our Kids
April 9- Remembering YOU- taking care of yourself and keeping your identity
April 23- Friendships and Motherhood- encouraging friends, making friends, getting out of our comfort zone and finding friends