Sunday was a rough day for our family. After church on Sunday night, we had a discussions with our children about their actions and how unacceptable their behavior was. However, you know the discussion isn't going well, when you pause and one of the children asks, "can we get a treat at McDonald's?" What they were hearing was "blah, blah, blah", so we drove to McDonalds for treats instead....just kidding!! Well we did go to McDonald's, but it was for treats for mom, dad and Emma; and I didn't enjoy it very much with hearing sobs from the back seat from four sad boys!
When we arrived home, we sent the kids inside and sat in the truck. I felt like we were failing big time in the parenting arena, but neither of us knew how to solve the problems we were facing. I felt like just ignoring the problem, but we knew that we wouldn't solve anything doing that. So instead we pulled ourselves out of the truck, and we went to assure our children of our love and put them to bed. After praying with them and kissing them goodnight, we sat on the couch to lick our parenting wounds like two hurting puppies. However, in a few minutes, one of our children came out to talk to us. He explained how frustrated he has been by his lack of personal space, and how he feels like his only friend is Dad. He was like an erupting volcano of emotions, feelings, and tears. As I sat there and listened to this young boy express all his bottled up feelings, I was thinking to myself how much easier this could've been if I had known about these struggles about six weeks ago! It explained a lot of things to me, and it helped Roger and I know how to try to handle certain situations. I don't know about other families that have boys, but in ours it seems like aggression feeds aggression. And by that I mean, if one boy stirs up the pot of fighting or getting angry, in two seconds flat there can be a pile of boys on the floor! God has given boys the ability to be leaders and to stand up for themselves, which is great if you're standing for the right cause...not so great if you're just refusing to back down to another brother! In our case, it's just been a case of four volcanoes simmering beneath the surface waiting for one to erupt. And erupt it did! Although it was a late night for us, I feel like our volcanoes have erupted and been cleaned out. They are ready for a fresh start in communication with us, and our eyes have been opened to problems. God did answer my prayers, and we are, I believe, on the way to a fresh start.
Monday was a much better day for all the boys. They got along better, played better together, focused better on their schoolwork (always room for improvement there!), and helped out with much better attitudes. Wyatt did the dishes for me without asking, but Chandler ended up dumping his milk down the sink as it had soap bubbles in it! Hmm...I think Wyatt used plenty of soap, and he didn't include very much rinsing! I will be sure to rinse those dishes before using them!
On Monday night we spent some time looking through old pictures. We picked up the computer last week in Flagstaff, so Roger wanted to take some of the pictures off of it. However, he was distracted by all the memories, and before long there were six other people sitting with him on the couch. We looked through memories of when Wyatt was born, and then Travis, our trip to Alaska (which I was surprised how much they remembered and all the good memories they have of that time), and when Emma was born. It was a fun time as a family to look back at all the memories and see how good God has been to us.
Tuesday was a busy day with homeschooling, Roger flying, and we had company for dinner. The pastor and his family came over for supper. They have their two grandsons visiting this week, ages nine and two, and the boys had so much fun with them! The trailer was vibrating with the sounds of nerf gun wars, laughter, and slingshots, but it was a great time. I'm so glad we made the effort to have them over. It's challenging to have people over for dinner when we don't even have enough room to seat our own family, but it was a blessing to have fellowship with their family. They are praying that God provides a job here in Page....I can't say as I'm there yet!
Wednesday is always a busy day, but it was busier today since I needed to get the laundry done. Chandler came with me to do the laundry and finish his book reading assignment for the day. He is always diligent to hunt for money at the laundromat, and this time he was rewarded with fifty-three cents! While I do enjoy these moments to spend with my children one on one, I will also be very, very, thankful when God allows us to have a house with a washing machine again!
By the time we finished the laundry, it was time to run home and make supper for the church dinner. We did manage to get to church on time, but Roger had a flight so he didn't make it on time. I know the pastor is trying to encourage the church people to be on time as he has started implementing a policy of starting on time no matter how many are there. So we started the service with just ourselves and the pastors family, but eventually people start trickling in. Since I tend to be a time concious person, I like to start on time. But I can also understand that habits are hard for people to change, and it all takes consistency.
Wednesday was also Roger's last day of being busy with flights. The tourist season is really starting to come to a close, the houseboats are being pulled out of the lake, and there aren't as many buses in town. Although the season contract is until the middle of November, we are praying that God gives clear direction before the fifteenth of November.
We appreciate your prayers!
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