Moments of Joy in Days of Chaos!

I continue to be ever amazed at the vocabulary of young children (and babies too- they can't talk but they let you know what they need & when they need it)! Now, of course, I have a natural inclination to label them as smart and witty but I'm telling you I may be on to something here! :) The things that Morgan will say blow me away and little Paige too, you can't sneak anything past her.

Morgan has had a little cough the last couple nights and I can hear her in her bed coughing all night. My expert opinion on sleep tells me that it prevents her from getting that "deep" sleep that everyone needs. The result of two-year old tendencies and no sleep really don't go well together. It was "meltdown" city here yesterday. We had some friends over for a picnic after Bible study and if you didn't know she was 2 you would have thought Morgan's life was coming to an end. Her Popsicle broke and she needed a new one immediately, then the new one was too cold, then she wanted sunscreen all over her whole body but she wanted to be the one to apply it, then her friends were playing with her toys (imagine that!), then she needed a bath so we opted for a "cat bath" she was thrilled for the idea until she realized that meant she didn't get to get in the tub with all her animals, then she wanted to watch Maisy before her nap and because I told her "no" she screamed, cried, kicked her legs and laid prostrate on the hall floor. Part of me wanted to give in which I'm learning that giving in is much easier... but the challenge is to not give in and who doesn't love a challenge!? So, I scooped her up and put her in bed! She fell asleep and peace fell upon this house! :)

That's just to give you an idea of what our day was like so you can see how very much I enjoyed the time I had with her last night.

My sister-in-law may be one of the most generous persons I know and has been so giving to us. All of the clothes that Ava outgrows come straight to us. I'm not sure Jennifer has any idea of what a blessing this has been and will continue to be to us. Morgan pretty much just wears Ava's clothes and Paige pretty much just wears Morgan's clothes that were Ava's clothes. This past Sunday in Dothan Jennifer loaded us up with 3 bags overflowing with the cutest clothes you've ever seen and in addition to all the clothes a huge Tupperware full of shoes.

Now that you know how my last couple days have gone here in "meltdown" city you can understand why these clothes would still be sitting on Morgan's floor! Last night Morgan and I tackled the piles one article of clothing at a time. First, we had to pick out a pair of jammies from the pile for her to wear to sleep and the ones we picked were "just bootiful"! Morgan would pick up each article of clothing and say, "Ava gave me this and it's so cute, what does it match, Mommy?" We'd go through each outfit and hang them on hangers and the whole time I was so enamored with the things that she said that the daunting task was much less of task and much more of a joy! She'd say, "Mommy what are these pants, these are just enormous?" "Oooh Mommy, this has Strawberry on it, isn't it so pretty?!" "Ohhh, these are soooo cute!" "Look Mommy what do these match?" She's so funny with matching because she loves to say things match but she doesn't really quite understand what "match"means. She loves to pick out a bow and say "this one matches perfect" when really it is so incredibly far from matching but I can't stand to burst her little bubble. If you see us out in a pink outfit with a red bow just realize we're wearing it because it "matches"! :)

I'm confident the Lord blesses us with these little moments of sweet joy when "we think" we've had a really rough day to remind us of the blessings He has so graciously given us. What joy and gratitude I have for my children! Even for the "meltdown" days!