It always surprises me how long it has actually been since I blogged!  This time it was a LONG time!  Well, we did move in September, and we are preparing to move again in March...so there is a lot going on here!  :)  And I recently sent out the first Serious Moms Newsletter, so that is where my writing was focused!

So now today...Today has been a rough day.  I talk a lot about the good our children bring us, and what a blessing they are.  And they are, no doubt.  But sometimes, let's admit it, we have rough days!  Today, from the moment my children woke up, they seemed tired (possibly has to do with the fact that nap time didn't go very smoothly yesterday).  I felt tired (even though I was asleep by 10), my oldest smelled like he had a sore throat, and all of the boys were fussy and grumpy.  I attempted to homeschool the oldest 2.  I was reading books about why we cough and sneeze, and why it is important to cover our mouths and wash our hands.  And the little one, Noah, kept interrupting the story.  He wanted to sit on my lap, but then he'd grab the book away.  He wanted to stand on the couch and jump, or climb on his brothers, or get into something he shouldn't. 

Then story time was over, and Kaleb wanted to play with the small guitar we got him for his birthday.  He loves playing that thing, and I'm trying to teach him how to play a G chord.  He's interested, but his fingers are still a little small. :)  And Isaac, our oldest, started balling (again--he did this yesterday too), saying "I want to play a guitar.  I want a guitar for my birthday.  I don't want trains."  So we had to have the jealousy talk again.

Then Kaleb was whining about anybody even coming close to his guitar, and saying over and over and over "I want milk."

And just as I was putting some washcloths in the laundry room, Noah did a full circle around the kitchen and the family room, holding his sippy cup upside down (the one I couldn't find the stopper for earlier today) and there were little spots of milk everywhere.

Ohhhhhhhhhh.........And that was only a portion of the day!  And believe me, we do train our children!  And even today (when I felt tired too), I was consistent.  But it was still a rough day. 

I think we all have our share of days like this one, don't we?  It's difficult to keep focused on God's plan for our children.  It's difficult, when in the moment, all we can think is "what he's doing right now is annoying me" and we want him to stop the whining, or whatever the child is doing, for our benefit alone.  But just like we have to train our 2 year old that life is not about them (and we will not give in to whining), we have to remember ourselves, that life is not about us.  Getting my son to stop whining has nothing to do with my momentary satisfaction (although it is so much nicer when he stops!).  There is a bigger picture involved.  If he whines at me now and learns that he can get what he wants from whining, he may choose to whine at his boss someday, or at his wife, or worse yet, at God.  And what kind of a man whines?  For my boys, my sole purpose in raising them and spending time with them in this home day after day is to train them to be men of God.  MEN who do not whine, who take responsibility, who love the Lord with all of their hearts and will do whatever He wills them to do in order to please Him.  That is the goal.  Wow....I'm glad I just reminded myself of that! :)

Now, I think I should probably go take a nap (since they are sleeping soundly), to recoup and gain some energy to handle the whining and bad attitudes again when they wake up.  I hope you all are having an easier day than I am!  (although, sometimes easier doesn't mean better, I guess.  I suppose that a lot of learning and growing probably comes from the rough days, do you think?).