Parenting is challenging

Yep, these are my children, and indeed they are crazy!  They are fun loving and spirited.  They are loud with laughter so very often.  They are smart and sweet (and show both sweet and smart 97% of the time).  I love being a mom!  Seriously, I do.  Being a mom is something that I prayed for and God really did answer that prayer.  For each of my 4 blessings I am so very grateful.   However, there are weeks like this last one where they are a handful.  I wonder sometimes if it is the weather, their exhaustion due to lack of sleep, or if it is their diet, or all these things combined like the Bermuda Triangle.  This was one of those weeks that no matter what I prepared for them to eat it wasn't right.  What I provided for them to wear -they didn't want it.     They didn't want to go to bed when asked.  They didn't want to get up when it was time.  They didn't want to do their chores (and seriously they each have like one it isn't like they are my slaves or whatever).  They didn't even want to put their own things away.  I never asked any of them this week to put away anything that belonged to someone else, just to put their blankets in their rooms or put their shoes in the closet or whatever.  They wanted to be by my side, in my bed, in the kitchen, in my car- wherever I was they were, but they didn't want to do the things that I was requesting of them.  Weeks like this puzzle me. Multiply the children and you multiply the grumpy, grouchy and whiny cries that come from their mouths. Today at lunch I actually held up my hands in the stop position and said the words, "everyone wait".  I realized that I had one child tapping my shoulder saying, "mom, mom, hey  mom." while there were two others who were in the midst of talking to me about two different things.  My ears and brain had had enough.    When all that is within me wants to scream/yell enough already you people need to get control of yourselves, I remember that I am the one in charge and I know what is best for them.  I have to calm my spirit and my soul in order to know what to provide for them.  In order for me to calm my spirit I often turn to music (it soothes the savage  beast you know)  I found myself this morning in dire need of quiet and calm.  I needed that quiet and calm to remind myself that there are others who would love to have the chaos of the Babcock home. Their lives have taken turns that caused them to hurt whether through the illness or the death of their children, or divorce and so they have seasons where they are without their children or whatever... they don't have what I have.  I try to think of things like that when I am tired of having little hands touching me constantly. I try to remember those people when there are interruptions during a show I might be watching, or a book I might be trying to read, or even the visit to the bathroom.  So on the way home with two in the car with me I turned on the radio and began to allow the music to wash over me as I have done so many times before.  No such luck as the 2 that were with me argued all the way home.  Once home all 4 of them were struggling to get along. It took a good 2 hours to get everyone to the point where happy faces began to appear again and the creation of a big tee-shirt with the words "our get along shirt we love each other" written on it (an idea from pintrest/facebook)- and what was I doing during those 2 hours... writing this article and listening to worship music in my headphones (between breaking up fights and redirecting).  Seriously they are now all 4 getting along and being sweet to each other and haven't complained once - and so I post a video (one I might have posted before) of what I do each and every time I find myself at the point where I need God to help me through and lead me back to a calm spirit... here it is:

Thankful so very much for those who use their gift to remind me of my blessings and of The One who gave them to me!!  Peace out!