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| Don't let the one on the left fool you! She's out to get me! |
1. For her New Year's resolution, our ALL-STAR potty-trainee, who practically taught herself how to use the john, decided that she would revert to using her own drawers as her potty-catch-all. So every single day for the first week of New Year's (literally starting on New Year's), we were pulling our hair out trying to come up with an explanation for what was happening to our sweet girl who had mastered the art of bathroom breaks 8 months ago. Well, we did not figure it out. And as quickly as it came- there it went. But it only feels quick in retrospect, believe you, me!
2. My darling and not-typically-churlish youngest daughter has also reverted. Old habits die hard, and she has begun to wake in the night like a three-week-old. This is particularly challenging, because I don't have a go-to solution for her cry sessions. She shares a room with her sissy, who arguably needs around five hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. So when she awakens, Haddie does too, and has great difficulty falling back to sleep without first talking to her dollies for a solid hour in addition to sweetly coaxing Betty through her tears. So putting B in the playpen in the door-less office has proven to be a temporary and moderately successful fix. Upon learning that she is my most stubborn crier (to date), I have had to do everything in my power to sleep despite my melting heart and machine-gun-style doubts that fill my head: Is she hungry? Is she teething? Is she sick? Is she hurt? Maybe her blanket is over her face? Maybe she just wants her passy? Should I get up and comfort her one last time? Should I let her lay in my bed? AND ON AND ON...Once again, no rest for the weary.
3. And in bullet-points, we're working through:
- Patterns of lying
- Eating (and then spitting out) solids (guess who)
- Submissive responses
- Learning to read
- Lateral generosity
- Laziness
- Bedtime antics
- Greeting
- Patterns of selfishness
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| Look at those faces! |
Beyond all of that, it seems all of the kids are in a lock-step decisive action against Mommy- giving it their all to teach me that having four kids in close proximity was a mistake of epic proportions. BUT, before I start waving the white flag, I am reminded that every single thing that comes to me is from the hand of Almighty God. I was listening to Mark read "Big Truths for Little Kids" during family worship last night, and I'm not kidding: I was moved by the fictional tale of little Caleb telling his friends Daniel and Angus that he was not chosen to be on the same soccer team. He reminded them that wherever God has him, is the perfect spot to be, and that we are to accept this from the gracious hand of our Father with full cheerfulness. I was moved as I looked around at their four cherubic faces listening intently (or at least pretending to listen intently). This busy time of trials and tests is directly from God, tailor-made for me. So I can thank Him for what He's doing in my life, and ask for Him to grow me in the ways that He desires me to grow. More, I am so thankful for these four children. Though they are not perfect, they are TRULY a delight, daily bringing me much joy by their fun and silly antics.
1 comment:
I loved this post. I laughed out loud @ the story of the "guess who" person who spits out food. Of course, I can laugh because I'm not the one holding the spoon. But, be encouraged, you will laugh, too, though it may take some time to find the humor in it.
Though circumstances will eventually change, you will still spend sleepless nights worrying (not gonna lie), but, hopefully that will prompt prayer to the only one who can bring resolution, healing, reast and comfort.
Tuesday's Bible study has helped me become more aware of how often I engage my mouth before my brain...like this morning, when an unnamed child of mine who has a driver's permit, made a sudden, quick stop, and I began to cry out to God for mercy. After my prayers were answered, and we didn't crash, I began to go into lecture mode (if truth be told, it really WASN'T the fault of said unnamed driver), when I stopped--because I remembered what I'd heard. Though there was enough time to kind of deflate my poor teen driver, it was quickly over. So, you see, issues change, but concern and care will always be part of a parent's heart. The best thing, though, is that OUR parent, AKA, the Lord, is just as concerned about us.
And, remember, DD, there are others who have had children in quick succession (I know that you already know that) who have actually seen them grow into adulthood. Be encouraged by that knowledge.
In the meantime, keep up the good work. You're doing a great job, and doing a noble, valuable service to the Lord by raising them in the ways of our great God. I will continue to pray.
LY.
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