One Week Down

We've had our 2 newest additions for almost a week now!  Here's how it's going :)

1.  Bedtime.  Not our finest hour to say the least.  Here's the thing about bedtime.  It's my weak spot.  I HATE bedtime and I'm twenty-something years old!!!  I am still afraid of the dark, monsters still reside in my closet and under my bed, I fight sleep tooth and nail, I really have to much to do I'd rather not fool with sleeping if I can help it.  So when any of my sweet boys struggle at night I'm a sucker.  Here's how I feel about it and I really don't care if you whole heartily disagree with me (how's THAT for honesty?).  I will sit by their bedside till the cows come home.  I will rock them until we both fall out of the chair from exhaustion.  I will sing lullaby's until my voice is gone.  I will check closets, under beds, anywhere and everywhere to make sure there are no monsters a million times a night.  My time with them is short and I'm not going to waste it listening to them cry during the night.  I understand the "cry it out" method but it just isn't right for me.  Disclaimer:  I have no problem letting a child "cry it out" when it's a fit or temper tantrum.  I'm referring to the "fear" cry.  Not the "brat" cry. 

2.  Big Helpers.  This is a first for me.  I've never had kids who BEG to help me with EVERYTHING!  Ethan can not stand to help me with stuff.  He has matchbox cars that need racing, bey blades that need....uhm I have no idea what bey blades do I just know I want to cuss when I step on them.  Action figures need to have fights.  He has better things to do than assisting his mother.  Our new little faces LOVE helping with anything I'm doing.  Their eager spirits melt my heart.  One of my favorite memories was stringing buttons while my grandmother was sewing because it felt like we were "working" together.  I pray that the memories we create during this time is as sweet to them as it is for me. 

3.  Check my attitude.  All 3 boys mimic my attitude and behavior.  That was a nasty wake up call!!  When I am ill, short tempered, and just an all around beast they are too.  They fuss constantly, whine all the time, cry at the drop of a hat, and are miserable.   When I'm trying to use soft words, lots of encouragement, and doing my best to have a positive attitude they do too.  They get along better, fight less, yell less, and are joys to be around.  When did "do as I say, not as I do" stop working??!!??    I've been doing it wrong for a long time now!!  Darn. 

4.  The first 2 days were hard.  REALLY hard.  I second guessed myself for 48 straight hours.  What did we do?  I can't handle this!  I'm so overwhelmed!!! Was this the right decision?  I want a nap! Why won't they nap?  We all cried.  With structure, love, rewards, consequences, and more love behaviors started changing, time outs decreased, temper tantrums subsided, life became sweeter.  As we settled into creating a new routine peace flooded my soul.  Yes, we did make the right choice.  Yes, we will make it.  Yes, it's going to get hard and it may stay hard but we've never been the family to do things the easy way.  So, I'm going to "count it all joy".   And remember Galatians 6:9 "Let us not grow weary in good doing,  for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up". 

5.  Ignoring the critics.  It used to bother me when others would question our reasoning behind our calling and share negative words about this lifestyle.  I understand that it's hard for some to understand our desire to open our home to children who aren't ours, may never be ours, and are "outside of the box" kind of kids.  I think it's a benefit to getting older because I'm not bothered by the nay sayers that much anymore.  We do this because God placed this burden on our heart.  Until He takes this burden off our heart we will continue to do it.  The End. I will explain our choices if I'm asked, but I will no longer allow any ones negative attitudes to bring me down.  While others are busy forming opinions and reasons why this isn't "good for us" I'm busy being a mother to children who need one.  I really don't have time to entertain the doubts. 

6.  Vacation!  We leave for Daytona in 6 days!!!  Hellooooooo BEACH!!!!  Bring on the sand castle building, sand where the sun don't shine, little boy chasing, sunblock applying, exhaustion, and fun!! I've never been to the beach with 3 little boys before and I'm actually looking forward to it which probably makes me a lunatic but we already knew that about me!   I can't wait to see the look on my sweet babies faces when they see the ocean.  Ethan has been to the beach, so he knows what to expect and is wayyyyy excited.  Our youngest 2 have never been to the beach so this will be a brand new experience for them. Sooooooo, are we there yet???  How bout now?  What about nnnnnooooow????  Now?