May 18, 2009

Update

After the TALK last night, we had an epic meltdown. Samuel lost it, and only after we advised him that police would come and take us all away did he calm down. It was that bad. After a few minutes of time-out for everyone, we purged the house of all sugar, and huddled up in the living room for prayer. Mom, Dad and William prayed, while Samuel quietly sat with us. Afterward everyone was much more relaxed, and we played a game that Leighton taught us. It was good. We tucked the boys into bed, and Leighton and I prayed together in our room, again. Today has been markedly better. Even the boys can see the difference. Leighton and I are still trying to recover. He took the boys this afternoon for a few hours so I could rest. I went for a walk on the beach and just cried. A pod of Dolphins put on a great show in the bay that cheered me up, and I had some quiet time to pray and think. When Leighton got home with the boys he said that they had a great time together. No fighting. They too went to the beach and saw the Dolphins. Leighton is now enjoying a well earned nap. Last night we talked about how hard parenting is, and that it is probably hard for everyone, but people don't really talk about it. We share all of this so that you can see how badly things go wrong here, but we know that with God's help everything is going to be ok. We also want to thank you for all of your prayers. They are helping.

2 comments:

  1. Gina, I don't have words for what your family is going through. I hope the last part of your trip is enjoyable. I can't wait till you guys are back and we can catch up.

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  2. Hello! I hope I find you all having a better time in your adventure. It sounds all familiar to me. Blake and Chloe are almost five years apart and Blake has little patience for Chloe. You see Chloe is a free spirited child and Blake is a walk in a straight line type of child. We have found through our experiences that with Blake's personality it is very hard to get to him. He gets a very bad attitude! The age of Sam and Blake are very hard for them. things are happening that they do not understand. We have figured out with Blake that manual labor is the best punishment for him. Bubba has made him mow the yard, weed the beds,etc. It gives him time to think through things and always comes back ready to talk. I think Sam and Blake are very similar in ways. I know it is hard to use that sort of punishment while in a car and on vacation, but for what it is worth, it has worked. Even punishment of "you must walk to the end of the street and back ten times" has worked. I love and miss you guys! I wish we could be with you.

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