Today I'm tired. Yes, I know. Wah, Wah-we're all tired. I'm feeling especially overwhelmed & frustrated today. Not really even sure why. Probably because almost everything I know to be true about people-ends up not being true. That is exactly why you don't ever, ever place your faith in people. JESUS is the only thing we should really ever place our faith in. Why is it that I forget that so easily? I'm also realizing my shortcomings more & more. That is actually a good thing because once you can recognize them you can start the process of working on them. However, today is a day that I really just want to be oblivious. I would prefer (for today) to live in that Pollyanna world I love to live in & tell myself that it is everybody else & I'm just fine. Ha! In my feel sorry for myself mood, I've decided to look back (quickly) at the past 6 months and point out some progresses that I have seen. It is super important to do because when you are in the thick of it you don't see those everyday progresses & you can tend to get very disenchanted. So-here is a short list. I know that there are probably 100 more but these are what I can think of on the limited amount of brain I want to use right now. They are in no particular order either-just as I thought of them.
1. ALL of our children are potty trained-completely. No pullups at night-just the potty all of the time (when they hit it-otherwise it is the floor!!). This has been a very big feat as 4 of the 5 kids were not completely potty trained 6 months ago. I'm writing a book on potty training called-"When they want to do it-They will do it". Unfortunately, it would be more like a pamphlet so my profits would be pretty little. Oh well...
2. Time outs & tantrums last on average about 3 minutes these days. 6 months ago they would AVERAGE about 45 minutes-not exaggerating or kidding. My ears are still ringing from a few of the tantrums.
3. All 5 kids call me Mom. Brian will occasionally call me Kelly when he is trying to get under my skin but other than that-I'm MOM. It's cool. We are working on the kids calling Dan "dad" for some reason that is coming slower.
4.All of the kids use a napkin & with gentle reminders eat with their mouth closed. I have a very sensitive gag reflex and 6 months ago I often almost "lost my lunch" when all the kids were eating. Won't elaborate any more. I can feel the gag coming just thinking about it.
5. All of the kids pray to Jesus every single night. Obviously, their faith is our faith at this point but they all have an understanding of who Jesus is & why He is so important to us. I love to hear Shamie pray at night-she says the same prayer every night but it is well thought out & very cute. I should videotape it sometime-I'm sure that when she is 30 years old I would love to look back at it.
Well-that's a short list. I have so much to be thankful for. I need to remember that this process is not so much about "behavior modification" but more about helping people who need to be helped & loving others like Jesus loves me. Please keep us in your prayers. Hopefully I wake up in a better mood tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
O.K.- I have to comment! All of these are major accomplishments. You make me think of David in the Psalms. He always starts by expressing his frustration and then he chooses to focus on what God is doing. I'm excited about all the little and big things God is doing through you and Dan!
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