By the time our fourth child came along in just five and a half years, I was completely humbled at the critical importance of modeling behavior for our children that I wanted them to follow.

If I wanted to speak truth into their life, then I better live it out first. If I want them to be kind hearted and servant oriented, they need to see me doing for others.

The phrase, “Actions speak louder than words” truly came to the forefront of life when I had kids.

Whether in gestures, words, facial expressions or (with boys) bodily noises, our kids are such mimickers. Why is it that most of the time they repeat or mimic the exact thing you don’t want them to at precisely the worst time possible?

Even though it’s been ten years, I am instantly transported to the moment when I realized the huge impact I have on our kids choices.

My husband and I were doing the ole switch-a-roo with the children and I was dressed and ready to head out for an evening with my girlfriends when our son yelled, “Mom, come quick. You gotta see this.”

I popped my head into our bathroom and there scooted right up to the mirror was the most unbelievable sight.

She eyed me, giggled, showed me the palms of her hands, pointed to her face and oozed with pride over her accomplishment.

I couldn’t wrap my brain around how this little one could even manage the small muscle coordination to accomplish this feat and then I realized, she copied my every movement.

Each morning she sits and watches me put lotion of my face. I put it in my hands and then I spread it around my face.

The difference? My white lotion soaks in each morning.

As I looked around the bathroom, I realized the huge task of cleaning up this greasy, nasty mess that was smeared, not only on my sweet daughter, but on the mirror, sink, and floor.

Knowing the importance of capturing this Ick moment on film (yes, it was real film back then before my blog), I snagged the camera while the boys made sure she didn’t get into anything else.

I wish I could tell you that has been my worse mess in the bathroom, but with three boys, that doesn’t even begin to touch the gross messes I’ve dealt with, and you would NOT want to see the reality of those messes, yet this was a rare moment that taught me so much about life.

Once I got through hassle of cleaning it up, that precious Mommy Modeling moment stuck with me.

Sometimes we just need to keep laughing when things like that occur and I’ve started my Dealing with Messy Moments pinterest board just for that reason: to keep chuckling at my reality. 🙂

What are some of your Icky Mommy Moments?
Maybe we can commiserate together.