How Do I Love Thee?

It has been one rough week with these kiddos.  From hours without sleep, to hours of homework, to hours of a husband who is on call 24/7 for a full week...

It's just been busy!

There were many nights when the kids went to bed in tears, and I went to bed with a heavy heart.  The pressure of the world weighs so heavy on them at such a young age.  They go to school for 7 hours a day, come home and do homework for 2-3 hours, have dinner, take a shower and get ready to head off to bed after just a few minutes of play.  The boys express their stress over tests and responsibilities, while I sit back and wonder why they aren't just kids???

And allowed to be kids...

I worked Monday, on Tuesday I attempted to make homework time enjoyable--got a pizza with the last few dollars in my wallet, went to get happy hour drinks...and half of them went plummeting to the floor of the Ford.  I wanted to cry, but I screamed...

...then the kids cried.  

On Wednesday, I gathered the left over macaroni and cheese after desperately trying to get the place cleaned up before the school bus arrived.  We took our swim suits to Mimi's house and used the hot tub for the evening.  When we got home, the boys threw tantrums and screamed words at me strong enough to provoke me to walk away for the course of the night and leave their routine in their Dad's hands.  The boys, with tears falling down their faces, yelled, "I'm sorry Mom, I love you...Do you forgive me?"  Again, I went to bed with a heavy heart.

On Thursday, I woke determined to change the course of the week...I had spoken with my sister and let her know that I had tried so hard all week long and things were just getting worse.  She informed me that the fact that I keep trying is what matters...I'd be a failure if I stoped trying in the end.  So, I spent the entire day, a day late (2/2/2012), making quilted Valentine bags for all of my children.  I picked them up from the bus stop and we made a trip to the grocery store.

Connor is quickly becoming more of a helper than a hindrance to a successful grocery trip!

He insisted that he do the work on his own! 

We actually picked up pizza again...with lava cakes too!  We were celebrating! 

 The kiddos all bathed themselves to pristine quality!  Well, I bathed the girls, but Maya is showing me that she has no fear of laying down in the water...to enjoy the warmth up over her ears!  She's a brave little gal!

Daddy wrote notes for the boys before he headed to work in the morning...I stuffed them into their bags as a sweet little surprise...

...well, I added Dove chocolates as well! 

I worked away, and upon completion, the light bulbs in the kids heads went on, and they realized that all the "cool things" I was doing was for them!!! 

And so the count down to Valentine's begins....

a day late!

But...even at a day late, it has begun...

and that's what matters most in the end.

It's never too late to make things better, to turn a heavy week into one of success, to change for the better...and to love. 

They most certainly appreciated all of it! 

 The joy on their faces with Daddy's notes was priceless...

Now, that's the right way to raise a kiddo--to build them up when they do good instead of tearing them down when they have done bad.  Way to go Daddy!

So, on the 2nd they were told, "As I have loved you, love one another." John 13:34

And today, they were informed that "I have loved thee with an everlasting love!" Jeremiah 31:3