“Stop crying or I will,” the Mom threats (that we all deny doing)

My 4-year-old was dramatically protesting SOME very unfortunate (obvious to her only) mistreatment in her life…

And she was doing it at a loud wail.

With a bunch of pitchy screeches.

It was enough.  I was trying to work, and I couldn’t concentrate at all.

So, I did what all moms always say they will NEVER do but ALWAYS do (see the hilarity right there).  I shouted from the other room…

STOP CRYING RIGHT NOW OR I WILL EAT YOUR CHOCOLATE!

Oh, no.  I didn’t stop there.  I went on…

Is that crying I still hear?

Crying is getting a bit softer, but there is a bit of remaining whining…

That’s IT!  I’m getting up right now to go and get your chocolate.  I will eat every last bite!  Don’t make me do it!

Silence.

Ah, man!

I was actually looking for an excuse to eat chocolate.

Smile.

Wink.

#momtruth

You lose electronics for a YEAR!!!! Grrr…

How can such sweetness make Momma go mad?

Okay, so by now you probably understand that I am a bit of a drama queen.  Unless you’re a new reader.  Then there is still hope that you find me a bit normal.

Hope?

Haha!

I wish.

Anyway, here’s the story.

My daughter loves to listen to Adventures in Odyssey at night as she is going to sleep.  They really are brilliant radio dramas made for children.  And they always teach great lessons.  About Jesus.  Can’t.Beat.That.

Problems: My daughter really, really loves these shows.  They are a bit addicting.

BUT === a few nights ago (the fateful night before she lost ALL electronics), I covered her up, and, before praying for the evening, said to her, “You can listen to ONE Odyssey.  How many can you listen to tonight?”

In the still and small beautiful voice of our precious firstborn, “One.”

“Okay.  So, you understand Mommy.  Only one Odyssey tonight.”

“Yes, one, Mommy.”

And we prayed.

The next morning she shuffles to the breakfast table looking especially tired.

“Adelyne, how many Odysseys did you listen to last night?”

“Two.”  (Although she manages to do many things that need correcting, she is an honest one, this gal!)

Anyhow, despite her honesty, my morning lion mane stands straight up.  Er.  It was already doing that.  So, my face grows red, I elevate out of my chair, and I explode.

Okay, I probably just needed my morning coffee and Bible.  But since I had neither, my morning was not yet off to the right start.

“WHAT?!”  It’s as if she just told me she dropped out of school.

“That’s it!  You’ve lost electronics for the REST OF THE MONTH!”

“Television.  GONE!  Radio station of your choice.  GONE!  Your Nook.  GONE!  Don’t ask to play on our phones!  When your brother is watching cartoons, you are in the OTHER ROOM!”

And I continue the lecture with having listening ears and doing as you have been asked and …

Oh my.  The lecture went on.

Poor 9-year-old girl!

To top it off, I told her that when she returned from school that day I would have an ENTIRE list of things she has L-O-S-T posted on the window by the kitchen table.

“What else will I lose, Mommy,” she asked.

I had no answer yet for this ridiculously over-exaggerated disciplinary action that I was dishing out, so I said, “I don’t know yet. I will have to think about it all day and POST it for you tonight!”

Literally.  GAG!  What a drama queen.

Needless to say, my husband was over there thinking, “Oh my, what a drama queen.”

And, after my daughter left for school, I realized that I am sometimes.  Just sometimes.  I am a little too much.

So, right now she is on Day 3 of no electronics like I mentioned above.  She is doing GREAT at it.  She hasn’t even complained once.

I know…she really is AMAZING!

She is reading more, playing more, dancing and singing to Max’s music more (Max’s music because he gets to choose the station—and it is always Old McDonald station).  Ultimately, she is still  having so much fun.

It’s amazing that we live in such an electronic world that kids forget that there are other things to do, right?

In the end, my punishment DID NOT fit the crime.  I was WAY too crazy.  And I am NOT taking away electronics for an entire month—Momma DOES need her sanity.

This blog post is proof of that 😉

You’re not so bad yourself…

You know, I am highly emotional right now. 

I am crying at the drop of a hat.  Literally.  Don’t drop your hat.  I’ll cry.

And then, on Sunday, they spoke about our ministry that started in Poland when my husband served 3 cups of hot tea to a few homeless men that were at the train station in Poznan.  Today, those 3 cups of tea have evolved to nearly 100 tons of food being distributed in the same city each year through our ministry.  But I won’t get started on that because then you’ll have me talking all day.

Well, needless to say, I bawled my head off in church when they spoke of our foundation.  But they didn’t stop there.  They ended the service showing the story of a little boy, around the age of 12, looking for a forever family to take him in as their own.  He just wants a nice dad that will take him to the library.  A nice mom that will make him cookies.  Two nice sisters and one nice brother. 

Let’s just say, swollen eyes, snotty nose—and, yes, I was in public.

Oh, but it’s not just emotional stories.  I am tired because I am on the less than 10 weeks countdown to popping out a baby.  Woot-woot.  So yesterday I looked at my husband, who is actually in America for ONE more week before he heads to Ivory Coast, and say, “I am so tired I could cry.”

He said, “Well, let’s see it.”

And sure enough…tears.

On top of it all, I have gestational diabetes.  No, I am not the only preggo, aging woman in the world with this diagnosis.  But I just might be the hungriest.  So simply thinking about fasting for two hours after eating a meal makes me…You guessed it.  Cry.

Woe to all that encounter me at this stage of life 😉

Let’s continue, shall we?!  So, my daughter has officially been home for just over a week and I’ve already had to do the threats and the counting and the don’t make me call your dad thing.  It seems like a million times and she has literally only been home 9 days.  How is that possible?  It’s possible, my friends.  It’s possible.

So on top of being emotional, tired, and hungry—I am feeling a bit down about being a kick-awesome mom.  And then today I watched this…This amazing video where they brought in a bunch of moms.  And each mom was brutal about their failures.  And then they brought in their kids.  And each kid.  Well…I don’t want to ruin it for you, so I hope you’ll take a moment and see this video (And, yes, I cried):

http://www.upworthy.com/these-kids-finally-say-what-they-really-think-about-mom-and-her-reaction-priceless-9

This beautiful video made me pause and think. 

You know…I fail.

I get tired.

I threaten too much sometimes—and unnecessarily at other times, especially because she’s just being a kid.

I am impatient.

I am moody.

But, ultimately, I am mom.

And, yes, my daughter will remember my failures, but, I hope when asked to describe me, she’ll also remember my beauty.

After all, forever her mother I’ll be.

 

And the answer is yes!

Here came the discipline!

I hope that you took the challenge to be bold in your faith and share the hope that you have in Christ.  Do it.  You are legendary.

Today, however, I’m going to be talking to men.  If you’re a woman, I’m sure that you can use today’s topic as well. 

My daughter and I traveled back from California on Sunday.  The first flight that we thought that we could take was full.  So we planned on taking the last flight out of Sacramento on Sunday.  This flight was scheduled to leave at 19:00.  We walked up to the gate just in time for the flight to depart.  And what we heard on the PA was a two hour delay.  Then that delay became a two-hour and forty minute delay.  Needless to say that by the time we arrived home it was after 00:30.  Tired we both went to bed. 

We both woke up early that Monday morning.  I got ready for work, and then I woke Adelyne for school.  We both had busy days with school and work. 

That evening Brooke went for a girls’ night out, and I stayed home with both Adelyne and Maxwell. 

We had a great time together.  I made dinner, we ate, laughed, and cleaned up.  Then I bathed Maxwell and got him ready for bed.  Adelyne took her shower while I finished getting Maxwell into his bed and down for the night. 

After Adelyne’s shower I asked her to get her pajamas.  She refused.  I asked her again and again.  She would change the topic and start trying to play with something else.  Again I asked.  Adelyne would say, “But, but, but.”  By this point my fuse was almost gone.  I told her to get her pajamas or she would be in big trouble.  Once again she flat-out refused and started to whine.  This went on for quite a while before I put my foot down. 

Here came the discipline!

Adelyne knew by this point she was in big trouble for refusing to do what she was asked.  I was tired, and I knew that she was tired.  But tired or not she still needs to do what she’s been asked to do. I had every right to discipline her, not because I’m harsh, but because it had been a long week of trying to get her to follow through with what her mommy and daddy have asked her to do. 

It was time for the discipline.  Just mere seconds before her discipline, however, I asked her a question.

“Adelyne, do you know what GRACE is?”  She looked at me with tears in her eyes and a strange look on her face.  She was probably thinking that I was talking about her cousin Grace that we spent the weekend with in California. 

“Adelyne, do you know what GRACE is?”  I asked again.  She thought for a second and said not really.  I explained to her that Grace is getting something that you don’t deserve.  It’s a gift of love.

I went on to tell her that because of her disobedience she deserved consequences of her actions.  But this evening I’m going to give her something different.  I’m going to give her GRACE.  We talked more about God’s grace that He gives to us. 

I’m thankful that God’s grace is given to me every single second of every single minute of every single day.  The very fact that I’m breathing is a sign of God’s grace in my life. 

But I’ve found that in my life I’ve never been the one to extend that same GRACE that God has extended to me to my own family (wife, children, and even the dog).

God has extended to you grace today.  Let that sink in.

If God can extend GRACE to me and you, then let us be men.

Go now and extended it to your spouse!

Go now and extended it to your children!

Go now and extended it to your neighbors!

Go now and extended it to your supervisors!

Go now and extended it to your employees!

Go now and extended it to your enemies!

Thank you, God, for extending us GRACE.