January 3 These guys

Wednesday:  I picked four very dear grandchildren up from my much-loved Dylan today and drove them over to the Beach House for a few hours. This is the last week of the older three's Christmas break from school--so the last time in a little while that they will all four visit here at the same time. 

Deep breath. Four children simultaneously is a lot for me. !! I wish it weren't so; and I try to talk myself OUT of being so blasted "orderly" ... and I do pray about it, especially when anticipating four very busy kiddos for four hours over at my quiet little house, three out of the four talking to me all at once, at least two of them at the same time requiring my undivided attention, feeding them at various intervals (and trying to keep that food-healthy), negotiating their little spats with each other, encouraging constructive play rather than toys being thrown through the air at the speed of light, etc., etc., etc. Four to five hours is all I can handle in all truth. I realize this is rather pathetic and I hope very much to improve my "tolerance" for chaos (because that is sometimes what it devolves into) this year, because ... I am now in my eighth decade of life. I want so badly to have these last years of my life COUNT; to in some way be a blessing to my family and not a burden, and to each day open my heart to God's leading, my mind to His word and ways, and to grow "more and more in EVERY WAY like Christ" (Ephesians 4.15) Wouldn't that be something?

Here are a few pictures of our time together:

Aidan was busy constructing a CITY from a combination of toys today: the Magnatiles and LEGOS combined. He was very intense about it (almost always) and did not need any assistance whatsoever. His brother (Cal) thought sure he would need some input and regularly came by to destroy whatever effort Aidan had recently made in his creation. I had to have a talk with Cal about respecting people's space and projects. 

We ate at various times today. The bigger kids ate Mac 'n cheese--except Brendan had a chicken/pasta/broccoli casserole I had saved for him. Cal wasn't a single bit interested in eating a single thing until about 2:00 in the afternoon. THEN he ate his Mac 'n cheese and had cantaloupe too. Also, we went through an entire loaf of cinnamon bread--toasted in the toaster with plenty of butter (yum) and everyone seemed content with that.

Here is Cal eating a very big bite of cinnamon toast ...

Aidan also was busy making a BOOK using some of Ed Emberley's ideas. Aidan will one day (I think) be a prolific author/illustrator. He gets so much JOY from this endeavor.

Erin added to her "Frozen" picture from last week. She enjoys coloring--me too!

Cal chose a few books from my animal/book bin and was really into reading them.

Dear Brendan (with a huge emphasis in the DEAR) kind of wandered around--sometimes reading, sometimes sketching, sometimes grabbing a puppet and playing. He will soon be 12. I am hoping he will still want to come over occasionally--but this can be a rather boring place to a pre-adolescent who loves video games, etc. I didn't detect that Brendan was bored, though--just a little unsettled with what he wanted to do.

We did have one confrontational incident where Cal quite intentionally destroyed one of Aidan's "creations" he had made with the MagnaCubes, at which time Aidan had a major meltdown--this was just prior to ice cream time. I asked Cal to apologize to his brother with a simple "I'm sorry" but got a very definite "NO" several times in response. In retrospect, asking a child to apologize for something they clearly are NOT sorry for is almost akin to asking them to tell a LIE. However, perhaps asking them to hug their wounded brother might be appropriate. In any case, little Cal was not awarded ice cream today. I didn't make a big deal out of it--but naughty behavior without impunity goes completely against my grain.

Near the end of our time together, we did put on "Baby Shark" and other children's songs/videos from Amazon. Look at Erin singing along!

Cal LOVES Baby Shark ...

Cal! You are a cutie, for sure. 

I love these little ones so much. I would not want to have to "parent" any child in this time in which we live, though. I've been reading through Proverbs the last few weeks and there is so much wisdom there!

"Listen, my child, to what your father teaches you. Don't neglect your mother's teaching. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and clothe you with honor." (1.8)

"How I hated discipline! If only I had not demanded my own way! Oh, why didn't I listen to my teachers? Why didn't I pay attention to those who gave me instruction? I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace." (5.12-14) 

"A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother." (10.1)

"To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction." (12.1)

"A wise child accepts a parent's discipline; a young mocker refuses to listen." (13.1)

"If you refuse to discipline your children, it proves you don't love them; if you love your children, you will be prompt to discipline them." (13.24)

"Only a fool despises a parent's discipline; whoever learns from correction is wise." (15.5)

"Sensible children bring JOY to their father; foolish children despise their mother." (15.20)

And on and on throughout Proverbs are wise words from the LORD. So I am asking the Lord to give grace and His wisdom to Dylan and Kelly for these dear children.