You asked!

Hello! Thanks for the visions of the kids in church - too much!!

Well, today was a "just me and the kids day". Chris worked and went straight to softball. Now you both know how those can either be really good or reaallly long days. I thank God that today was such a blessing and I was able to really enjoy being a mom to three truly dear children.

Some ahhh moments from the day.

This morning Abby was curled up in a blanket on the little Elmo chair and I was on the floor beside her, leaning against the wall and under the blanket too (seriously, when is it going to warm up here?!?). Abby was reading from her Fun Tales book, "Nat sips pop. Nat has a nap. Nat is bad." Then she looked up at me with those big baby blues and said proudly, "I'm really getting good at this!" I love lightbulb moments like that!!

I took all three kids to the grocery store and it was actually an enjoyable experience! I am on a juice day and I was able to stick to my list even though it was supper time. As we exited the store I complimented the kids on their behavior and help. Analytical Jackson said, "What percent did I get?" (I'll never live down the one day coming out of a store I told them their behavior was 100% - now it is always a discussion!) I said, "95%. You did really well except for when you got a little crazy with Makenna in the frozen aisle."
Always the competitor, Jackson asked, "What percent did Abby get?"
I said, "Abby did great. She got 100%."
Jackson looked totally dejected. I couldn't bear it, so I said, "Oh, but I did forget about the 5 bonus points you got for helping me find the pickles and baked beans. So that means you get 100%."
As I loaded the van, Abby and Jackson started doing the happy dance. They both got 100%!! Then Jackson said, "What percent did Makenna get? I think 91% because she was pretty bad!"
So, you tell me, am I spoiling my kids with the extra credit bonus points? How thankful am I that my children will go big grocery shopping with me in a relatively peaceful, non-whiny, respectful and non-gimme-this-or-that way. Today they did anyway. And I am thankful to be their mom. Maybe that is how God feels about us. When we have a good day of quality fellowship and obedience toward him I am sure he is well pleased and he knows how much better that behavior is for us, his children.

Love ya girls.
My cup runneth over ...

E