Peaceful Parenting

YELLING:

I have been working on not yelling for days!  

I made it five days the first week, 

six days the next week. 

Hopefully I can do 7 days this week.

There are a few sayings that help me with not yelling:

- This is not an emergency.

- Each day is a fresh start.

- A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you a hundred moments of regret.

TIME:

"The hurry makes us hurt."

It's hard for me to remember to slow down.

It's hard for me to let them linger.

It's hard for me to linger.

But when I see other parents rushing their kids, forcing them to move faster and for no good reason, I am inspired again to try and let them be little and go at their own pace.

"Wherever you are, be all there."

  Being present helps get rid of anxiety.

It allows me to take this parenting challenge one day at a time.

And most of all, really being there is conducive to good parenting.

SELF PARENT:

"You are always responsible for how you act, 

no matter how you feel.  

Remember that."

-unknown

I must self-parent first.  Before I can teach my children to control their emotions, I first must learn to control mine.  It's not an easy task, but one that I must continually work toward.  

"These six kids lean hard into me all day to teach and raise and lead and I fail hard and there are real souls that are at stake and how long do I really have to figure out how to live full of grace, full of joy- before these six beautiful children fly the coop and my mothering days fold up quiet?"

-Ann Voskamp

{One afternoon he just tipped over and fell asleep}

UGLY BEAUTIFUL:

These days with my boys are fleeting.  They feel like forever, when they are truly only the blink of an eye.  I enjoy the challenge of finding the "ugly beautiful" in my life with them.  Hand prints on mirrors,  lego creations on the kitchen table, and matchbox cars found in the oddest of places-- my bed, the silverware drawer, the drying rack.  Those little reminders of these blessings in my life put a smile on my face and make peaceful parenting just a touch easier.

*

And lastly, my new favorite:

"They will fall asleep on you after a long day

and it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.

One day you will carry them on your hip,

then set them down.

And never pick them up that way again."

When I have the presence of mind to remember these beautiful truths, reading one more story is easier.  Helping resolve a conflict between brothers is easier.  And keeping my temper in check is easier.

*

Up with Teachers

In honor of my husband, I want to give my personal shout out to teachers everywhere.  Teachers take so much crap, so much blame and so much responsibility for many things outside their control.  

Only rarely do I turn on the news and hear something positive being said about these people who spend their days training up the next generation of thinkers, bankers, parents & politicians.  

So I personally want to thank each and every teacher.  Thank you for caring, for listening, for working.  Thank you for every weekend and evening of personal time you spend, grading, preparing, lesson planning.  Thank you for laughing, for hugging and for crying.  Your heart is in it, and we can tell.

"Education is the most powerful weapon for changing the world."

-Nelson Mandela

***

Playing Out

It would seem our sunny days spent playing out in only our jackets are over.  The snow began yesterday morning and hasn't quit yet.  So glad that we took advantage of all those gorgeous days the last two months and got outside everyday!

Wyatt These Days

Wyatt is my sweetheart.  He always has been.  But lately I find myself cherishing him even more than usual.  When he hugs me... When he spontaneously says, "Love you, mom"... When he tells me I did good kindness...  He just melts me.  Whatever he feels, I feel times ten.

Three nights ago he had a nightmare.  I awoke with Logan by my bedside telling me Wyatt was in his bed crying and calling for me.  When I went in, Wyatt still seemed half asleep, so I just hugged him and laid with him until he fell asleep.

The next night I was tucking the twins in after stories and Wyatt kept interrupting me, telling me he wanted his Ten Timid Ghosts book in his bed.  When I finally got over to tuck him in, I realized I had misheard him, and he did NOT want the Ten Timid Ghosts book in his bed, near his bed, or even in his room.  He told me to take it downstairs.  I assured him I would and when I asked him why, he said it was because ghosts are scary.  We talked over what's real and what's pretend and he seemed better, although I took the book downstairs anyway, just to be safe.

I decided that night to rock him and as I rocked him, I sang, as I always do, with my eyes closed.  When I opened my eyes at the end of the song and looked down at Wyatt's sweet face, I saw that he had tears in his eyes, and his lip was in the biggest sad-pout I had ever seen.  I asked him if he was going to cry, and he just burst into tears.

After nearly ten minutes of crying hysterically, he finally calmed down enough to talk.  Then we had a chance to discuss his bad dream.  He told me that he dreamed he was at a haunted house and he went down a fire-slide and burned his feet off.  I thought I was going to cry as he told me about it,  clutching at me and sobbing in fear.

I let him get all his emotions out, cradling him close, then I assured him that I was here, and Daddy was here, and his brothers were here, and in addition to all of us, God is here, keeping us safe.  Then I went over, again, what is real and what is pretend.  But, oh, how my heart was breaking for him.  His fear was so real, so visceral.  

Thankfully in the two nights since, he's had no nightmares, no bouts of crying and no mention of scary things (Halloween related or otherwise).  I'm so grateful that I get to be the one who is his soft place to land. That he knows he can share those things with me.

I hope that's always the case.

Best Money We Didn't Spend

Last year with our Span Alaska grocery order, we ordered so much that we received a remote control helicopter for free.  Last weekend we took it in to the gym with the boys, and they were enthralled!

The Old Airport

Watching for bears...

And moose...

The handiwork of beavers

So blessed by those four boys in my life...

The old airport building

The rock quarry

The twins... my twins... how are they six?!?

My guys... Oh the love!

Inside the old airport building

Equipment for keeping the runway up is stored in the outbuildings

The airport was relocated because of the runways' direction related to the wind

Had to carry a gun for safety as bears are not hibernating yet!

Josh showed the boys how he practice shoots, shooting into the rock wall

They were so excited!

Our daddy is so awesome!

The whole scene

A long walk as a family was a lovely way to spend our Sunday.
I will treasure it as we head into winter.