practically perfect in every way

I can see how some visitors may not like me "endorsing" a movie. There really are very few worth watching out there. And even this one causes some reservations as my children ask if she is real or if it all pretend-every.time.we.watch.it. And then there is the whole suffrage movement. But I so enjoy the character of Mary Poppins. My children also love her. Personally, I wish she were real; [smiles] and I wish I were just like her {snapping my fingers to clean up the toys?!}.

Of course, perfection and tea parties on the ceiling and popping into chalk pictures are just fairy-tales  -beautiful whimsy and imagination.

But there are a few things we can learn from her approach to children and life. 

1. children's wants and desires are not to be dismissed out of hand just because they are children.

2. children need and WANT their father's [and mother's!] time and affection.

3. children need play in equal proportion to learning, and sometimes the two go hand-in-hand.

mommy & Anya {3 years ago!}

4. while the occasional babysitter is necessary for the survival of a marriage, children do not need a nanny. They need their parents, specifically-time with their parents! [and I won't go any further than that!].

And while I will never be a Mary Poppins, I can take these lessons and apply them to my responsibility as a mother. 

I must be intentional about taking time to listen to my children-their concerns, their stories, the reason for their squabbles, the way others treat them, what their dreams are, etc.

I must take the initiative to be sure each child has time with me regularly. In a loving manner, I must nurture time with their daddy. 

Even amid chores and the eventual homework that comes with growing up, I must take the time to remember they are still children. If home and school become only about work, they may come to resent being in either place. Life is full of adventure. And sometimes I need to remind myself of that! 

As often as our personal schedules allow, I should make arrangements for the children to be cared for by someone else for a brief time so as to foster a loving relationship between myself and my husband. Because whether I like it or not, our marriage will be the one they most likely model their own marriages after one day. I need to be sure I am seeking the Lord in being an example of a loving, Godly wife {no matter my faults as a housekeeper-lol}.