So, I blew it last night.  Messed up, screwed the pooch, whatever you want to call it.  I blew it in the patience department in getting my boys to bed.   To make myself feel a little better, can anyone relate to difficult bed times with young kids?  It can be the hardest part of the day for me!   Don't get me wrong, I love putting my boys to bed, reading stories, snuggling with them, etc.  But, when the requests for snacks start and trips to the bathroom and the constant up and down...I start to lose it.  Most nights are fine and they go right to sleep, but there are some nights like last night where I just get pushed to the limit.

Holli was out on a girl's night with some friends.   I think the boys can sense it when it's just me putting them to bed.  I think they start hearing voices telling them "Dad's alone...you can take him...you can break him down..."

Each day I rise and think "today just let me be faithful".  Faithful to God, to my wife, to my kids, to my friends, to my clients, to my partner and employees.  At the end of the day if I can look back and say I didn't blow it, that's a great day.  I definitely failed at keeping my patience last night.

There's one truth that I think God revealed to me last night:

It's in the little things, day by day, where character is built.

We must prove that we can be faithful in the little things before God will ever trust us with bigger things.

Sorry Camden and Caleb.  Bring it on next time Mommy is out!

[image by ianders]

Can you relate to my night last night?  Share a story or post a comment about how you handle the little things in life that test you.

I love what kids say sometimes. Many times I leave a conversation with a little kid either scratching my head or laughing.  Seriously, I wonder how kids come up with the things they think about.

Recently, I was getting ready for the day and my 3 year old, Caleb, comes in and gets this really sad look on this face.  At first I wonder if he's getting ready to tell me that his brother hit him. Or, maybe he's setting me up to ask for some chocolate.   Turns out, I was able to use the conversation as a good teaching moment.

Here's how our conversation went:

Caleb:  "Dad, I don't want to go to kevin."

Me: "What?" <puzzled look on my face>

Caleb:  "I don't want to go to kevin."

Me: "What?" <again, I'm slow. I'm thinking "who's kevin?">

Caleb: "I don't want to go to kevin. I want to stay here."

Me: "You mean heaven?"

Caleb: "Yeah, I don't want to go to kevin."

Me: "It's heaven. h-h-h-h-heaven."

Caleb: "I don't want to go to h-h-h-kevin."

Me: "Why not buddy?"

Caleb: "I want to stay here at our house with you and mommy."

Me: "I don't want you to go to heaven right now either. But, someday you'll get to go to heaven."

Caleb: "But I don't want to go to heaven." <he got it right this time>

Me: "But God lives in heaven. Someday, you'll go to heaven to live with God forever because you love Jesus. But not right now. God has too many plans for your life and too many things He wants to do through you before He brings you to heaven.  We never know when God is going to want us to go to heaven, but we can live each day trying to help God in our world and telling others about God."

Caleb: "I like that daddy. I'm glad I don't have to go to kevin today!  Dad, can I watch a movie?"

Later that night, Holli says to me: "Guess what Caleb said to me today: 'Mommy, I don't want to go to kevin.'"  Here we go again...

Have you had a funny conversation with a little kid recently? Share your story and post a comment below.   

   

Yesterday my wife saw a little naked man running around our back yard.   Call the cops you say?  Nah, it was just our 3 year old Caleb.   You see, he likes to be naked.  Plain and simple.  He hasn't quite learned the social etiquette that you can't just run around naked outside. (we're trying).  Caleb was outside playing with his brother Camden and they decided to get in the sandbox and throw sand at each other.  Typical boy stuff.   Well, after getting covered in sand, the next logical step, if you're Caleb, is to get naked.  Enter Holli: to find him running around naked.  Caleb got in trouble and had to get dressed bringing the naked romp to an end.

So, Holli tries to call me to talk about her day and what do you think I do?  "I'm busy, can I call you back?".   Umm, let me tell you, might not be the best response to your wife, guys.  But that's what I did.   And then I didn't call her back for another 3 hours.  Hey, just trying to keep it real here; who can relate?  I definitely get the "unsupportive husband" award yesterday.

What are two things a husband can learn from a little naked man? 

1. Be a little more free spirited.    No, don't run around outside naked, that's just creepy.  But when it comes to leading your family, take some risks and make sure to enjoy the time.

2. Actions have consequences.   If there's something you're doing or not doing that can get you in trouble, stop.   Like taking a phone call from your wife or at least calling her back promptly.

Do you have any great "3 year old" stories you can share?

[image by chrisandjenni]

This morning my wife Holli and I took our boys out for breakfast.   Caleb our 2 year old was sitting on my lap because he said he wasn't feeling well.    Our food came and we all started eating.   About 10 minutes into the meal Caleb throws up all over the front of his shirt.   He was back on my lap at this point, so luckily I was able to grab his shirt and catch most of it.    We took his shirt off and wrapped a coat around him and Holli took him out to the car.   She had mostly finished her breakfast and I was going to pay the bill.

Here's the thing though:  I'm a slow eater.  I still had a lot of food left.  Plus with Caleb on my lap, it was hard to eat.    So after getting barfed on, what did I do?   I'm a parent, what do you think I did?  Of course, I kept eating.   I cleaned my plate while I waited for that bill and it was quite tasty!

I think one true mark of a parent is the ability to handle barf and just move on.   How about you?  What are some other true marks of a parent?

We have a tradition that on the day after Thanksgiving we pile into the car and drive over to Reynolds Farm Equipment in Fishers and check out the Christmas lights.  We stopped for some Starbucks (Kids Cocoa for Cam and apple juice box for Caleb) and then slowly made our way through the lights.   Of course we all had to wear our PJ's, which Caleb and Camden thought was hilarious!

There was a new addition this year that was our favorite:

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions your family likes to do?  Holli and I are really trying to be intentional about setting some traditions that are kids will look back on some day.

Caleb Grant is 2 today!   Happy Birthday!

Caleb is getting so big and his words and speech are amazing us.   Today is birthday party day, lots of friends and family coming over to help celebrate!

Caleb's verse:

Numbers 14:24 -->  But because my servent Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

I was reading in Proverbs this morning and came across two cool verses.  I've been trying to read a chapter in Proverbs everyday.   Since today is June 21, I was reading in Proverbs 21.    Proverbs 21:21 says "He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor."   What a great verse for Caleb's birth day.    So then I decided to go look up Proverbs 6:21 (for June 21) and here's what it says "Bind them upon your heart forever fasten them around your neck."    Good stuff.  It's in reference to keeping your parents teaching and commands in your heart.

That's always been my prayer with our boys.   That God would give us the wisdom to raise them right and that they would bind that wisdom in their hearts forever.