Me and Evie...

we butt heads sometimes. I can be a bit of a control freak when I want something done. I feel like I try to force my children to do the task now and not in a minute or at their liesure. Today, after a long day of two additional kids being with us for the morning, Evie was woken up from her nap by her ever so perky sister.

Naomi has been using a lot of new words these days. She attempts to say everything. She says, "Hallo" to us when we get her in the morning from her crib and when we get her from naps. She waves her little hand and gives you a little twinkle in her eye when she greets you. She seems so proud of herself.

Naomi ran up to Evie today after naps and said, "Hallo", with a friendly, expectant wave. Evie would not say anything to her. It kind of broke my heart since Naomi is little and is attempting to interact with words. I feel she deserves a simple "hello" in reply. Evie would not acknowledge her and I asked her to say "Hi" back. I wanted her to say it immediately and let her know with my eyes, voice and facial expressions.

That didn't get us very far and I ended up having to send Evie to her room for her rude behavior. I didn't need to make things end up the way they did. I need to give Evie a break. She picks up a lot of slack around here and handles my bossy tone (almost 95% of the day) with a pretty positive attitude. It gets a little old for her by the end of the day. I need to change my attitude and give my girl a break. I need to let her be and she will do what she is supposed to do naturally and with a more joyful spirit because her mom isn't jamming it down her throat.

I often am reminded that I don't deserve these children and they are a gift from God that I need to "handle with care" at all times. I am very thankful I am given the opportunity to raise these children and to be loved unconditionally by them.