was that a 3-ring circus, or was that my night sleep?

A little of both? hmm. I do not have a baby anymore, so one would assume that I get plenty of sleep. And honestly, that is usually the case. I have been extremely thankful for my sleep-filled nights, since I have certainly had my share of exhaustion. But me thinks I have been getting used to that uninterrupted slumber....

So last night when Sonja K. started crying really loud that her tooth hurt, turning on the hall light and storming into my room all upset, I did not take it very well. She scared the living heck out of me. It took my poor heart a while to get back into regular rhythm. I talked to her about her tooth (I think in her case it is an I-can't-sleep thing), she went back to bed, and LEFT THE HALL LIGHT ON, glaring and shining into my bed. rrr. I got up and turned off the light. After that, Miss Camille, who was better yesterday but started getting feverish again, coughed off and on all night, ending up in bed with me in the wee hours, tossing and turning.....every single time I started to doze again, she would cough or roll over. Now, this will not kill me to be tired, but jeepers. Well, to tell the truth, after it became clear my sleeping time was over, I really enjoyed just cuddling with Miss Camille. I showed her pictures on my phone, and sang her the ABC's....(if I couldn't sleep, at least I could prolong lying in bed!)

So now the day has started. Camille was playing with a dolly and a stroller....the ones that her 4 year old sister had last night when mean mommy said it was bed time. That did not go over well. Camille was clutching the baby, and Charlotte Claire would have none other. I finally asked, "Okay, who wants treasures in heaven?" Camille thrust the dolly at her sister, and said, "I do!" phew. peace reigns again.

Now Jonathan has a dolly too and they are setting up a house in the hallway.....I want to play too!

Today, airport!!!!

We have lots of cereal, there have been some good coupon deals at BJ's, and I am especially thinking of Samuel. He is a cereal-aholic. Norway doesn't have the variety we have here, and according to Sam, it doesn't taste very good. So he will have some blissful days of CocoaPuffs.

I think that no matter how nice and good teenagers are, they inadvertantly hurt their mother's feelings occasionally. Some of my girls made me cry last evening after dinner. They were sitting around the table talking about names and how stupid it is when people name their kids the popular names and so on....a few of them do not like their names, so they ask me WHY! Anyways, I was cleaning up while they talked, already feeling bad because they seemed all against me, when I came upon two different cups of coffee that had been sitting on the counter. I made the general announcement that if you are going to make coffee, drink it.....then I made the mistake of asking who did it. No one did. So I loaded the dishwasher, making comments about how NO ONE does anything, yet there is the wasted coffee....I guess I didn't realize how I sounded, until the girls started telling me to just go in to the living room and sit down, they would clean up....one said , REALLY Mom, Please go! Then: one of them asked me if it was my time of the month....I just walked out, went down to my bathroom and cried my eyes out. Okay, maybe I was being a little witchy, but I seriously didn't feel angry or anything. I felt like just getting in the van and driving away. I was so hurt and offended. When I returned to the kitchen a while later, they were still sitting there laughing and planning the house they are all going to live in someday. I think one of them was trying to be nice, she asked, "Mom, do you want to live with us someday?" I said NO. ooh....mean mommy. I am not mad at them, after all, teenagers know a lot more than me most of the time.

So I am not mad at my girls...95% of the time we get along just splendidly, so I cannot complain. There is one of them with whom I have butted heads with, which has taught me much about myself, and has taught me more to think before I speak and be more gentle and seek wisdom from God...well, this daughter and I have gotten along much better lately......I realize that this is not all because of me, but because she has a longing to be good and well-pleasing to God, too. When, as a parent, we can overlook many things and just help ignite this longing in them, and give them hope, then it is better than all the punishment and discipline in the world. That is my opinion, of course.

"And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are suficient of ourselves to think anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Corinth. v. 4-6)

So now I will get going and enjoy these guys.....