The Hand That Rocks The Cradle

picture from KnickofTime.net

William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)

BLESSINGS on the hand of women!

Angels guard its strength and grace.

In the palace, cottage, hovel,

Oh, no matter where the place;

Would that never storms assailed it,

Rainbows ever gently curled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy's the tender fountain,

Power may with beauty flow,

Mothers first to guide the streamlets,

From them souls unresting grow—

Grow on for the good or evil,

Sunshine streamed or evil hurled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission,

Here upon our natal sod;

Keep—oh, keep the young heart open

Always to the breath of God!

All true trophies of the ages

Are from mother-love impearled,

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!

Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,

And the sacred song is mingled

With the worship in the sky—

Mingles where no tempest darkens,

Rainbows evermore are hurled;

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

Northrop, H.D. Beautiful Gems of Thought and Sentiment. Boston, MA: The Colins-Patten Co., 1890.

Found at Poem of The Week: 

http://www.potw.org/archive/potw391.html

Homemaker's Quotes

To my child:
You are the trip I did not take; 

You are the pearls I did not buy;

You are the blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

~Anne Campbell

One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is to have a happy childhood.  ~Agatha Christie

It's better to build children than repair grownups.  ~Unknown

The best thing to spend on a child is time. ~Unknown

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel.  ~Unknown

Never chasten beyond the balm you have within you to bind up.  ~Brigham Young

The best way to make children good is to make them  happy. ~Oscar Wilde

The next time the children started quarreling, I fought back an urge to get angry and started singing, “Jesus said love everyone; treat them kindly too.  When your heart is filled with love, others will love you.”  Both children stopped quarreling and looked up in happy surprise.  Mother was singing!  ~Margery D. Small

[Parenthood] is a learn-on-the-job situation.  It's not for the faint-of-heart. ~Kathleen "Casey" Null

Don't think of the gray in your hair.  Think of the fun you had putting it there.  ~Anna Greenwood

Friends are important, but when you have a child you should turn into a parent.  ~Elaine Cannon

In 1939, President Joseph F. Smith taught:  "There should [not] be any of us so unwisely indulgent, so thoughtless and shallow in our affection for our children that we dare not check them in a wayward course, in wrong-doing and in their foolish love for the things of the world more than for the things of righteousness, for fear of offending them."

Beginnings

Yes, my fretting, frowning child, 

I could cross the room to you more easily.

But I've already learned to walk, 

So I make you come to me.

Let go now--There! You see?

Oh, remember this simple lesson, child,

And when in later years you cry out

With tight fists and tears--

"Oh, help me, God--please."--

Just listen and you'll hear a silent voice:

"I would, child, I would.

But it's you, not I, who needs to try Godhood."

~Carol Lynn Pearson

To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling.  The righteous woman's strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. ~Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985), Prophet

"A virtuous woman" (Proverbs 31:10):

Verse    Quality

11          Can be trusted

13          Works willingly

20          Is compassionate

25          Is strong and honorable

26          Speaks with wisdom and kindness

28          Is a dedicated wife and mother

30          Obeys the Lord

...and for always letting me lick the spoon.

This card was the best present I could get on my 43 birthday from the child, (Elise--shown above), who always loves to help in the kitchen.

There is nothing wrong with the world that a sensible woman could not settle in an afternoon. ~Jean Giraudoux