New Art Work

Okay, so here's a little collage that I did for my mom of her grandmother's house in West Virginia. The angle is weird b/c that was the only way my mom could get the glare off it. There is a coi fish on it b/c my great-grandparents had a wonderful pond in their yard with fish. Once, my mom took her little kid fishing pole and caught one of the very expensive coi fish! :) The little metal squares are letters that spell Mt. Echo. That was the name of the beautiful house.

Today is a day of tantrums and even though I know it's just a phase, it is so hard not to get completely emotionally drained in the middle of a 45 minute doozy. Jack is great at those these days. Am ready to get through this phase! Thank goodness for naps, at least there is a lull.

Family Team

So yesterday was a hard day. Jack was throwing the never-ending tantrums, mostly related to not wanting to get re-dressed after going potty. A necessary skill to one's life, so we keep working on it. In the morning I had prayed with the kids that God would make us a great team. I think we had about 3 hours of mostly continual tantrums and discipline.

So, it was somewhat miraculous when later that afternoon, I had one of those, "oh my goodness, God totally answered that prayer" moments. We were outside, kids were playing while I was working in the garden a bit, trimming the flowers and watering. Then, Jack wanted to "help Mommy water? can I mommy can I?" so I let him. Then, I asked Josh to use his little wagon to take my trimmings to the trash can. He happily agreed and took about 5 loads of hydrangea blossoms to the trash. And I went on clipping. Then I looked around and realized that we were indeed working as a team. Everyone was involved, having fun, being together, serving. It was a great moment.

So be encouraged! Your hard Mommy work will pay off, bit by bit, as you watch your kids grow in responsibility and attitude and love for God.