Choose another fruit ...

I might just totally shock you when I let you in on a secret ... my kids argue, bicker and often lack patience with one another.  *gasp*  They are as far from perfect as you can get ... and unfortunately, they have one Momma who is leading them in that pack.   *sigh*  We all need some fine tuning around here.

So a little over a week ago, over dinner, Doug set out on a mission to start implementing some lessons on each of the Fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness and self control with our kids.   Realizing that most of our issues are simply issues of the heart, we have realized that we can discipline the behavior all we want - but the only thing that will really change it is that which is within them.  We had a great visit with the kids that if the holy spirit is living in us ... then just as He tells us in Galations 5, we are to live by the Spirit that is in us.  That by doing so, we will not gratify the desires of our sinful nature but will instead shows fruits of his presence.  It tells us that those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature and now have the spirit within us ... so we are to live by it!  We should be baring these fruits.  *should*

We are a work in progress

Uh hum - Did I mention that I was and am always the first to fail the lesson on patience!  Geez Doug, why in the world did you have to pick that one first.  I mean, give a girl a break and at least choose something like goodness or kindness.  I can usually pulls these off.  But patience, on week one - bluck!  Didn't you know when you pray for patience, you get opportunities to practice it!  I told you so!

Well, as we closed out our night Doug told the kids to go look for opportunities to tell him about times where they either had/didn't have patience.  He also said to watch others ... teachers, friends, parents .. yada yada.   What a way to set me  us up for failure.

Well ... since we began our lesson, we have had our car broken into, the AC in the car go out, multiple showings on our home, 2 sets of great feedback (nothing to come of them) 3 Doctors visits before someone finally said our boy was heading down the wrong direction ... and was hospital bound.  3 days and 2 nights in the hospital with a little boy in a 12 X 12 room - confined, jailed and not feeling "sick" at all.  Can you imagine?  Yeah, that lesson alone was a doozy on us all.  He was literally climbing the walls!  To added to that a baseball tournament, Dakota's 10th birthday, and last night we got an offer on our house.  THRILLED we were!  But of course, as our lesson goes ... after telling us they needed an answer by last night ... they left us until morning with no response to our counter offer.  THEN ... informed us that they "didn't know what they are going to do" since a builder of a spec home they liked came back and were going to give them their right and left arms on a house they liked.

Patience ... what lesson?  Whose watching?  Hmmmm ... what did you say?

At this point, we are home from the hospital and our boy is good.  I'm pretty sure that that buyer is long gone ... as well as our excitement about getting to take the next step *sigh*.  Our AC is still broken, my garmin is gone (yeah, those thieves got that one), and well ... I'm still no better at being patient.

*Will I ever learn*  

I say this week, we pick up with kindness and let the Lord test someone else on that *other one*
I raise my white flag .... you win Jesus!

This is the eye that got us admitted.  Not responding to antibiotics at home and growing worse called for IV antibiotics  and CT scans to rule out it being behind the eye.  Septal Cellulitis (or something to that manner).  

Getting an IV always calls for a "paw-sickle"

How do you entertain yourself in a 12 X 12 room with a very wired kid - Apple products.  Thank you Steve Jobs!  

Found out we are getting out of here ... WOO HOO!

It was also Dakota's 10th birthday this weekend.  She enjoyed the day with her bestie and her Mommy.  That girl had waited 10 years to get her ears pierced.  She had literally counted down those years.  Hmmm - maybe she wins the patience award after all.  As she got them done she said "I can't believe I've waited 10 whole years for this day".   Pedicures, a movie, lunch, ear piercing, swimming, looking at puppy's at PetSmart, a visit to the hospital to see her baby brother and a sleep over.  I'd say it was a good day!

Post piercing.  One happy girl!

Lunch!  Pretty girls!

They chose this one as their party prize.  HAHA

Getting her first Pedicure.  

Pampered

Bestie necklaces and rings

Visiting little bro.

I do know one thing ... we may need some work on Patience, but I would have to say - given all that has been going on, we can give ourselves a pat on our back for finding *JOY* somewhere in it all!