Oh the tears!

Why is it that girls are so emotional? UGH! Raising 3 girls is defiantly challenging mentally and emotionally. The girls, Lovely and Sporty, started the day with an argument over clothing...imagine that! The problem: Mom purchased a cute little trendy outfit for Lovely, never thinking in a million years Sporty would find it appealing....she did. So I let Sporty get the same skirt and a different sweater. I thought the sweater was enough of a difference that it would not bother Lovely. WRONG! Lovely is botherd that her sister is being " a copy cat" and proceeds to start our day off with an argument. Did I mention that the outfit couldn't even be worn today...it is for church!

I would like to say that this mood of Lovely's stopped when we started school but it did not. She continued to annoy, provoke and just irritate her sister. Can you see my blood boiling? I did my best to stay focused on my agenda but it got run over by a highly emotional 9 year old and a sensitive 7 year old.

We finally did get settled into school after looking up a Bible verse on love covering a multitude of sins...to be memorized and recited on Friday. This was what I thought would reel Lovely in and get her moving, until I told her she had to write a story! What kind of mother I must be! I was informed that she (Lovely) doesn't like to write she just likes to read and therefore she did not want to do the assignment I had given...blood boiling again! I then insisted that she cooperate or lose her privilege to play SOCCER!!! She did her best to pull her self together, she did try 3 times to get me to change the assignment, but I did not.

She completed her assignment and did very well. I however was exhausted by 11:00 and we still had a great deal of work to complete.

Lately I am really overwhelmed with the task that is before me. It's not the school work it is the character building. I am often taken to the place of wondering if I will ever see an improvement in this attitude? Why do I have to do this? I want to do what I want! It is in these moments of self love that I realize I have been granted a great and wonderful privilege. I get the joy of teaching my girls how to respond to feelings and situations that aren't always pleasant and fun. We did not come into this world knowing how to communicate clearly the feelings we have. We came into this world selfish and sinful in nature. God has entrusted me to TEACH Lovely how to respond correctly about her sister having a similar outfit and do work that isn't pleasant.

I am truly relying on God and his grace to cover the mistakes I might make in my reaction to an emotinal child. There are going to be tears over difficult things in life I just hope and pray I will have equipped my girls with the abitliy to press on and do their best, even when they don't feel like it.