In case you haven't noticed, Grant is quite active! He can sit up and "crawl" his way all around the room now. He is also starting to sleep through the night a lot more often! The past 2 nights he slept over 11 hours! I'm praying he continues that!
Isabel is starting to understand why we discipline, and you can see her actually process things in her mind. On some good advice from a friend with another strong-willed child, we've been teaching her about choices. When we instruct her to do something, we often give her options, (ex. you can either eat the snack I give you, or you can go without a snack today) and she thrives on that. She loves feeling like she has some responsibility. And when she knows the consequences up-front, it's easier for her to make the better choice. Today, she was disobeying over and over, and I got down right in front of her and said, "Isabel..." in a pretty stern voice. She said right away, "The Bible says so," which is her response when we ask her Why she should obey. We still have to discipline most of the day, but we can see her really growing in her understanding!
Jeremy and I are praparing for a garage sale this weekend (hopefully). We will be moving around the end of the year, and we're trying to simplify our lives a bit! Our rent keeps increasing in this house, and with a tight budget, we're convinced renting the house isn't really the best use of our money right now. So we're moving with hopes to save a little and eventually purchase our own home. Plus, we'll be neighbors with the Leonards when they move here! We're very excited for them to come on staff at Heartland, and we still need to pray that Ben finds a definite source of supplemental income that provides benefits for the family.
My mom was with us while Jeremy was gone, and she attempted to get some good pictures of me and the kids...I came to the conclusion that I will never be called to children's photography. I think we took 40 pictures in two different "sittings," and not a one had all three of us actually looking at the camera and smiling normally. I'm already dreading Christmas pictures...
I had a crazy Mommy day the other day, and my wonderful husband took both kids to the basement after dinner so I could have uninterrupted reading time. I started reading in Hebrews 12, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith..." I noticed that it does NOT say "let us take a break from the race and go sit and have coffee" but "let us run with endurance." I thought of Isaiah 40:31, one of Jeremy's favorite verses. When the race gets too tough, we don't need a break; we just need Jesus. Maybe when I'm having another crazy Mommy day, I just need to remember to "lay aside the encumbrances" and fix my eyes on Jesus - and maybe just sit and laugh with my kids while I keep running.
Isabel is getting to be a great helper and an even better big sister. This morning Grant spit up on one of his toys while Jeremy and I were out of the room, and Isabel grabbed some Kleenex and cleaned it up for him! She's starting to take initiative and complete tasks on her own without even being asked... which is great in some respects and frightening in others. She also takes initiative to do things she knows she shouldn't :) But we're thankful for her spirit and all of the life in her. It can be a daunting task when it comes to discipline, but God gave her such a fun personality!
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