How to love your kids when you don't feel like it...

Prayer is essential, of course, but sometimes I need another practical step to take me from the closed-in place of Irritation and Annoyance into the wide open spaces of Falling in Love with My Children again. Here are two tips I've discovered in the last week:

1. Get 'em naked.

It's true. Ever tried being impatient and frustrated with a soft, sweet-skinned, fleshy little scamperer? It's not easy. Plus, they just have so much fun running around in the buff that their moods change, too--even towards each other. Thatcher was the one who started this trend in our house. He's fascinated with the toilet and wants to take all his clothes off when Callan goes to the bathroom. Well, then Callan wants to join the fun and strip down, too. Then off they go, four little buns all around the house. It's hard not to squeeze 'em, let me tell you!


2. Read Shirley Hughes.

Truly, she is becoming one of my top five favorite children's book authors, not just for her storytelling, but her gentle and sweet illustrations and poetry that captures the magic of childhood. The children and grown-ups in her stories are real--kind, irritable, worried, messy, brave. I read her books to my son to remind myself of the simple wonders that are everywhere in my children, if I only look. I read her books to my son to teach him how to be kind and brave, but that sometimes we are scared and grouchy, too. Here is a list of the books we've read and loved:
Alfie Gives a Hand
Alfie Gets in First
Alfie's Feet
The Big Alfie Out of Doors Storybook
Rhymes for Annie Rose
Chatting
Dogger

New post, new year

Ah, here I am again. Once again, I've completely alienated my readers out there (all 3 of them) by being so infrequent in publishing. But I'll keep getting back on the blogmobile after falling off so many times...

The first week of December we celebrated Callan's 4th birthday--just about every day that week involved some kind of party. Truly, since Thanksgiving Callan has opened so many presents spread out over a month that he said to me recently, "I want to open some January presents." Just let the retailers loose with that idea! Here's a shot of Callan's bug birthday party:

We made it through Christmas--it was nice, actually. And that means a lot coming from me, since I tend toward Scroogeosity starting the day after Thanksgiving. My kids are encouraging me to revel in the wonder of the Christmas story. It really is a wonder, you know...

Here's a picture that was taken by my father-in-law during their visit after Christmas. We have so few family pictures that I'm not going to be picky about our expressions, messy house, etc.

But I'm enjoying the new year more than ever, too. I can really understand why people make resolutions--there's so much fresh energy after the holidays once you clear out the pine needles and wrapping paper, and your schedule is much clearer, too. I'm resolving to tackle my house projects by focusing on one per week instead of being overwhelmed by all of them at once. This week, it's painting a headboard/footboard that I picked up at a yard sale this summer (actually I got 2 sets for $20--one for each boy!). The new color is Parsley Sprig--kind of a light froggy green. I love that color. Matt thinks it might be too girly, but I think it will look great with the denim bedspreads and blue/green paint job I'm going to do in their bedroom (but that's another week's project--actually, maybe that's a two-weeker).

I'll close with a picture of our silly Thatcher (drinking his "Paw-Paw Har-pin"s fruit drink for breakfast). He is ever the goofball and keeps us all in stitches, especially Callan.