Finding my Smile

What have we been doing all week?  We have had kids make holes in the walls as a result of foolishness.  Then there was the time the adults made a hole in the wall trying to move heavy furniture. (Did you know Darin is really good at repairing holes in walls? Phew! This isn't the first time.) We've had kids hanging, climbing and sliding where they know they shouldn't. We have had angry outbursts, disobedience, and meltdowns. (Did you know disobedience and disrespect are contagious? oh my!) We've had at least 10 loads of clothing washed - much of which should have never been put in the laundry basket to start with. (Did you know it's easier to throw clean clothes in the laundry basket under stinky clothes then put them neatly away?) I could go on and on recounting all our less then perfect moments. There are too many to count.

Instead, I know we were well fed, well clothed, well taken care of, LOVED, and FORGIVEN. I am thankful. Here are some snippets from the past week that made me smile.

1) Memorizing scripture with the kids. I love that they are excited to work on this and I pray that it will penetrate ALL our hearts, especially mine. They have 4 of the verses memorized so far.

2) Sharing between brothers. Last year, Ethan received this cowboy hat and boots for Christmas. I'm thankful that he has been willing to share with Aaron. They are taking turns being the cowboy...each with a slightly different look. :)

3) A happy girl enjoying her Borscht. I am so thankful that she is so agreeable to whatever I serve her to eat for dinner. "I like all food you make Mommy." She was especially thrilled to eat this soup (and leftovers for lunch for two days!)

I confess, I was less then thrilled to eat it but pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was. 

4) The excitement over a 10 minute flurry of snow. The pictures describe it all. 

 And yes, I learned on this day that Ethan's sneakers have holes in them. He was quite smart to take care of the problem all on his own with a few grocery bags and rubber bands. Time for new sneakers.

 5) We can't all always be together on holidays anymore with family in different states (which is sad). This year, I'm thankful for a delicious Thanksgiving meal prepared by my mom with only a 20 minute drive. We look forward to time with the other side of the family after Christmas. Last year on Thanksgiving, we were sitting at a "dolphin circus" in Ukraine.  I think we had eggs, toast, and fruit for dinner. What a difference a year makes!

6) Playing with flowers. I took the time to make a flower arrangement for our Thanksgiving table and it made me so happy! I probably told the kids and Darin at least 20 times how much I enjoyed it. Maybe some day I'll get to work in a flower shop again? Although, it will never be the same without Darin being the cute delivery boy I'm getting to know. ;)

7) Spontaneous reading and game playing. The kids spent well over an hour reading and enjoying our bin of Christmas/winter books that I took down from a top shelf where I had them tucked away. It made me smile to see them so entranced. On another day, they spent at least an hour playing board games together while I was working in the kitchen. Those are moments I want to remember.

 8) Taking a break from school. We rested from school on Thursday and Friday. It was so good to take off my school teacher hat for a few days. I couldn't let myself completely relax, but the break from working with the kids on their core subjects was good for my heart.

9) Reading scripture. Aaron received a poster of Psalm 23 from Sunday School. Ever since then he has been walking around carrying it with him and reading it aloud to anyone who will listen. He continues reading even if you don't want to listen. He has folded the poster like a book and just keeps reading and reading aloud.

10) Truth. My daughter is a complicated creature. I'm trying each day to figure her out and just when I think I'm getting the hang of it, there is a new twist. Today, I got impatient and short with her over her inappropriate behavior. I found myself taking a taste of humble pie as I apologized for my behavior. To which she replied, "That's okay Mommy. Jesus forgive you, right?" Yes indeed. Now that is something to smile about. So thankful when my daughter can remind me of God's truth.