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Flowers for mom can mean so many things to us. Little children love to give flowers to mom. I’m sure you’ve received your share. Whether they were picked from the weeds in the garden or a picture loving created, there is something about flowers and moms that spell love for a child. Flowers symbolize beauty, hope, springtime, and love. It reminds us of the innocence of childhood and makes parenthood memorable.

I absolutely love flowers! My husband use to buy them for me and give them to the kids to bring in from a trip to the grocery store. They were always so proud to be the one to “give the flowers to mom.”

How can we encourage this love and build relationships with our little ones throughout childhood but also as they get older? It is called time. Yes, that dreaded word, “time,” which none of us have enough of, and we always wish for more. Recently I listened to a good friend teach the topic of “time,” to a class of bloggers and potential podcasters on my 31-Day Podcast Blueprint Class. She claimed a truth we can all believe. We have time to do the things we want to do.

We have time for the necessities and we have time for the needs, but do we have time for the wants or the wishes that will pay off in big-time dividends? What if they pay off for the future and the future of your children’s lives? The answer is yes–you do have the time only if we make this a priority and schedule it into our lives just like we schedule the other things we do each day.

Often we are not aware of the impact our attention or lack of attention has on our children. As my daughter who has eight children said, “If I sit and listen to my kids and all they have to tell me, I’d get nothing done!” Yet, I’ve watched her tirelessly listen as one of her children has a complaint or a need. God gives us the patience during the time we need it, if we ask!

Listen, this list is not to cause you guilt or make you feel you are not doing enough. We all need a nudge from time to time, and I am going to be honest, I probably mostly resided in the okay-time-spent category. I’m a talker and often opted to chat with friends and let my kids have time “off” so I could have my own downtime. This list is just a “check” to see if there are ways we can improve because we can all use some improvement!

Time = Flowers For Mom ~ it symbolizes love, hope, and that you care!

There are different types of “spending” time with our children, and I wonder if most parents know the difference.

Good Time Spent

1. Reading aloud to your children.
2. You listen intently as your child tells you play-by-play about any (or all) events in their lives.
3. You sit on the edge of your child’s bed each night and listen to any heart-to-heart issues, or just to say, “I love you!”
4. You do activities with your child, cooking, baking, crafts, building, etc.

Okay Time Spent

1. You sit next to your child while you view a read aloud on the computer.
2. You listen while making dinner as your child tells you play-by-play about any (or all) events in their lives.
3. You stand by the door each night and listen to any heart-to-heart issues, or just to say, “I love you!”
4. Your child does activities such as cooking, baking, crafts, building and you are nearby.

This. Is. Not Quality. Time Spent.

1. You surf the net or are in another room while your child listens to someone else read aloud.
2. You listen but are distracted and are looking at your phone, your watch, or anywhere else but AT your child as he/she tells you play-by-play about any (or all) events in their lives.
3. You wave to your child as he/she heads to bed and forget to say, “I love you!”
4. Your child does activities such as cooking, baking, crafts, building, etc. while you are busy on a digital device or on the phone.

A little one recently shared that their mother is *always on the phone. This broke my heart because I remember my own kids telling me this at one point. And, this was just when cell phones became affordable enough for us to own one. It was a wake-up lesson for me, and I never talked on the phone until school was over and employed an answering machine. Those come built into our phones. Can you imagine how your child would feel if you saw an incoming call and said, “I can call them back, go ahead and finish what you were telling me.” Your child would feel he/she is more important than a phone call! That is building a relationship with your child that will be like money in the bank!

How do you tell your child you love them? By spending time with them, by caring for them and I get it moms, it is a thankless job for the most part. But my almost twenty-year-old said the words that every mother craves recently. “Mom, the older I get the more I see value and truth in what you have to say.” Bring on the tissues!

How did this happen? I was sharing my heart on a very touchy issue and I overstepped. He had some valuable and very authentic concerns and I answered in a way that was borderline heartless. (Yes, it happens to us all!) There were no raised voices, just raw honesty. Afterward, I had to think about our conversation and thankfully the Lord showed me where I was wrong. I wrote an apology note and put it in his room. He had gone out for a run. That note said I was wrong and where I needed to improve. We can learn from our children as well as having them learn from us.

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Mother’s Day is a day set aside for making moms feel extra special and extra appreciated.

This year Mother’s Day might look a little different for some people.  No heading off to church, no special brunch at your favorite place, no gathering with extended family and friends.  Just because things may be different, doesn’t mean the occasion should be any less special.

I’ve gotten together with 24 of my blogging friends with the desire to bless FIVE moms this Mother’s Day (we really would love to bless you all) and make your Mother’s Day even more memorable!

We are giving away 5 $100 gift cards to the place of your choice, from the following options:

• Hobby Lobby
• Christianbook.com
• Restaurant of choice
• Grocery store of choice
• Lehman’s

It’s our hope and prayer that your family, and most importantly you sweet mama, are blessed even more so during a Mother’s Day unlike any other.  May this be a time of new experiences, new traditions, and new peace.

To enter for your chance to win, simply use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Now I know that is quite a few entries, but each of these bloggers generously chipped in their own money to bring you this giveaway, so I hope you will take the time to do all of the entries; it will bless them in return. And hey, the more entries you do, the better your odds are at winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway end May 8th at 11:59pm EDT.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond to email to claim the prize. By entering this giveaway you will be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. Please be sure to read the Terms & Conditions upon entering the giveaway.