Guest Blog Post - Christina Lane

Hey everyone! Today I have a GUEST BLOG POST! She is the sweetest person ever, has kids of her own, and has been through some tough situations in her life which she describes in her post!! For more blogs from Christina, check out her blog link it'll be posted at the bottom of this blog! If you guys are book worms she also has an amazing book out called " More of you, Less of Me"! I read the book in one day! It was such an inspiring story! 

Okay guys here it is; 

First I’d like to start off by saying thank you Kayla for this opportunity to be a guest on your blog and share a little bit of my story. I’m really honored.

Hi there! My name is Christina. I’m a young mom to three amazing, awesome kids. Ok, one adult and two teens.  Now they weren’t always an adult and two teens. They started off as little wee babies.

Allow me to share a little bit of my story with you.

I’m a former teen mom.  At the fresh ripe age of 17, I gave birth to my son. I had no idea what I was in for but I did know that I wanted to be the best mom I could ever be.  Life threw many challenges my way and by the grace of God I buckled up and held on tight. My son’s biological dad was not up for this challenge and chose, with my help, a different path of life. So here I was 17 years old with a child. As time went on, and many heartaches and challenges later, I met someone.

Long story short, we got together and at the wonderful age of 19, guess what??? Yup, I got pregnant again! In June of 1995, I gave birth to my second child. Oh, did I mention I got married too? Yes, I did. So here I was 19 years old with two children, a husband and a cat. Life was far from easy. We were on a roller coaster of crazy for a couple of years, trying to make things work. It was a hard life. I was very lonely and felt very sad. Although I felt so sad, I loved my kids. We had fun together. My two kids loved each other and we spent a lot of time together. If life was not challenging enough, guess what happened next? After my 21st birthday, I received a late birthday gift. Can you guess what it was? If you guessed another child, you are correct!

So here I was, 21 years old with three kids under the age of four.One magnificent boy and two beautiful girls.

Thinking back to my early days as a young mom, I can’t believe the things that we went through. I did a lot of growing up. A lot.As my kids grew, I grew. I changed. I embraced parenting.

Here are a few things that I did, and still do today, to help make me a better parent:

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I chose to go with the flow of each day. By that I mean, if the dishes didn’t get done, they didn’t get done. If I had plans for the day and the day didn’t go with “my plans”, well so be it. I placed no expectation on the day. I went with where the kids were at and what they wanted to do (depending on what it was) haha.

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TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF!! Take a bath, do yoga, pray and meditate, exercise, whatever it is, BE SURE TO DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF IF NOT DAILY, WEEKLY!! I cannot stress this enough.

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If you are with your partner, GO ON DATES! At least once a week or every two weeks, do something fun together, tell each other something good to one another daily. LOVE each other and HELP each other. HAPPY PARENTS ARE BETTER PARENTS ;)  

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PRAISE your child and say nice things about them. Especially when talking with other people. Your child needs to know you have their back and that they can count on you.

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If you are a parent, BE A PARENT. Having a “single” life and being a parent is like an oxymoron to me.

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Above all else, learn to love yourself and have FUN with your child. Laugh daily and hug often. Make choices that will better yourself and your family.

Parenting is a journey, it’s not a destination. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. You were chosen to have that child, YOU WERE CHOSEN. There’s a reason for it. Trust the process and learn to accept life on life’s terms with your child.

Today I am 38 years old. I am thriving and so are my kids. Two of my kids have graduated high school and are in University and college (I have an ear to ear grin as I type that). My son is actually going to be graduating from university this coming June. How’s that for teen mom statistics?? J My youngest daughter is finishing up high school. She’s got one more year to go. My relationships with each of my kids are amazing. Not only am I their mom, we are friends. I love them to bits! They saved my life. Today I can look back and thank God for this life He chose for me.

To all you parents out there, hang on through the tough times, they pass. Love yourself and be kind to you and your child, help each other out. Give each other a break. And here’s a very good question to ask yourself when the kids get “out of hand”, “Is this the hill I want to die on today?” Chances are it’s not. Hang on and take breaks when you need them. Live in the day you’re in. Forget tomorrow.

You are special. You are awesome. You are loved. Yup you are.

If you’d like to know more about me come check me out at: www.teenmombloggers.com