Today I am so glad to feature a friend who inspires me, Jenn Salyer. She is wife, mother, and amazing artist with a booming business that I can’t wait for you to hear about!
To be honest, I had to scroll in my feed all the way back to May to find a picture of myself (very professional, I know). This one happened to be from Mother’s Day, a day on which I told my husband to take all the pictures, because I take them the other 364 days. I think I found a wall that I thought was cool and stood in front of it to look artsy.
I’m glad he took the pictures! As moms I do think we often take all of them and then aren’t in them enough. I love that it shows your vibrant personality. 🙂 So do you wear any other hats in addition to your [big, gigantic, hugely significant] Mom Hat?
I’m the owner of Cobblestone Road Hand Lettering, an online shop of my hand lettered designs and goods.
For more info: www.cobblestoneroadlettering.com www.facebook.com/cobblestoneroadlettering www.instagram.com/cobblestoneroadlettering
I love all that you make. It’s so beautiful! And I need to order a chalkboard for school because it’s so cute! Tell us about your kids…
Lincoln, our oldest, just entered middle-school. He’s sensitive, hilarious, smart and ridiculously compassionate. He also has the best hair in his grade. Eloise is 9, and is like a hummingbird in human form. She’s bubbly, goofy and as fierce as they come. Our baby, Billie Reid, will be one on Halloween (the most fun birthday). She mainly chews on everything and bumps her head on stuff.
I love those descriptions of your kids. They sound amazing.?
What is a recent mom win you experienced that took time and perseverance to accomplish?
I’m having to dig pretty deep into the annals of my maternal brain to recall something, because, at the moment, the baby is defiantly screaming in refusal to sleep and the middle child won’t talk to me- but I seem to recall back to Easter.
We had been doing a family study together for Lent and had really been digging into the Bible and what Easter means. On Easter Sunday, we gathered all the neighborhood kids we could find (and trust me, there are swarms of them) and invited them over for sidewalk chalk, hot dogs, and face painting. As we looked out to the sidewalk from our porch, about an hour into the event, we saw our oldest son, sitting on the sidewalk with some neighborhood kids. He was boldly sharing the story of Jesus’ death and Resurrection and the meaning for us about why Jesus died. It was in that moment I was overwhelmed with gratitude at God’s faithfulness to teach our kids His word and answer our prayers to let them be bold in sharing. That’s what it’s all about!
That is so sweet and I bet such an incredible moment as a mom.
I laughed at your comment about having to recall a mom win because isn’t that sometimes how we feel? Like we’re just trying to be the best we can for our kids and help them succeed and sometimes it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of winning. But God’s been teaching me that there is so much we don’t see and just loving them and living your life to honor God is a huge mom win. So I say all of this to say, I think sometimes we need to give ourselves grace that there are mom wins happening every day in our homes…but maybe we’re too tired to see them. ?
What is a mom win that you would text your best friend?
My kids have learned cuss words from the school bathroom stalls…and they don’t say them. ??
Hahaha. Your realness is a breath of fresh air to me! What are you learning as a mom right now?
There is no destination, it’s all journey. I used to think by the time my kids got to middle school I would have graduated from “Padawan” mom status, to actual “Jedi”. I had this image in my head of a mom who could calmly and cooly, respond to situations with Bible verses (or at least answer questions with questions, like a true sage), and rarely had to ask forgiveness because she seldom failed. The truth is, the longer I mom, the more I realize how little I know, and the scope of my need for the Lord. There is no “arriving” at an expert-state of motherhood, only realizing in greater measure how much we need Jesus, and our deep reliance on him in each age, stage, and moment. The great news is that there is grace for each season in exactly the measure we need it.
Isn’t that the truth? And such good news. I am so glad. I was talking with a friend the other day and she was saying that she’s learning to give grace to herself because this is the first time she has a four-year-old. She’s never done this age before so there’s going to be some trial and error in parenting her. That was such a good reminder for myself that each time I get to a new parenting season, I really have no idea what I’m doing and I don’t need to even act like I do. 🙂 Just cry out for God’s help to know how to navigate it all and lean into the strength He provides me.
Thank you, Jenn, for sharing such encouraging insights with us today. I like and respect you even more. ☺️
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