This guest blog post on “Healthy Food Options for Kids” is by Christine Muldoon, M.ed, NTP of Nourishing Littles.

Having kids will change you.  Do you believe that?  Here’s my story.

Is there anything as earth-shaking as the moment your first child is born?  I remember getting ready to leave the hospital after the birth of my first child, and all I could think was, “They’re letting me take him home?”  Although I knew he was our child (so of course we should take him home), I also couldn’t help feeling that the hospital staff was making a big mistake trusting me with this sweet, little life.

Everything about who I was shifted when that little boy was put in my arms.  I began to shrivel in big ways.  I lost part of who I was for a time, just as most mothers do. Finding ourselves again, as mothers, is so important.  But in that time when motherhood was breaking me down… When I felt beat and exhausted… Motherhood began to grow me.  After some time passed, what I found was this: I changed when I had kids.  Thank goodness.  Having kids made me a better person.  And I believe having kids will change you as well.

“December 7.”  That date meant I was late for advent.  I kept repeating the day in my head as I pushed open the barn door to my office and walked towards my mis-matched chair and desk.

I had every intention of starting the advent activity, from Focus on the Family, on time with our children.  Our 3 kids, ages 6, 4, and 2, were excited about building a nativity as we slowly approached Christmas Day.  Wait… slowly?  Who am I kidding?  Time was rushing by and life was a complete blur of school, work, youth group and coaching.  

December 7.  This would be the day we would start the advent activity.  It had already been a few days since I had sat in front of my computer trying to decide if it would be more economical to print the activity at home on my own printer, or in town at the print shop.  I decided it was probably cheaper at the print shop.

Even with that decision made, I pictured the scene of making one more trip into town, getting the kids out of their car seats and running door-to-door in the cold, north-east winds.  That thought alone made me shiver, sigh, and press print.  After the printing was complete, I gathered up the papers so that I could review them and cut out the first few days worth of cards.  We had some catch-up to do.