Oh mon Dieu, aidez moi.

"Daughter of Liberty! whose knife
    So busy chops the threads of life,
And frees from cumbrous clay the spirit..."
-Hymn to the Guillotine

If you are having a difficult time with your three year old, a great remedy is to volunteer to teach a whole class of 3 year olds for at least two hours each week, late in the evening.

Yes, John and I have now been teaching a small class of three year olds for two weeks and I am feeling very, very blessed with my two children.

My blog has one main purpose and that is to record my life's happenings, mostly for the benefit of our own family.  I try not to complain about my children or embarrass them too much, so I know that to many of you, it may seem like I brag on them a lot.  Well, let me tell you that it's not always daisies and roses around here.  Just the other day I considered placing an ad for a full time babysitter.  Full time meaning 6:30 am until 9:30 pm.  And  about once a day I feel like placing my head in a guillotine.

Our AWANA Cubbies class is complete chaos.  I have prided myself in my great classroom management skills for many years.  But in Cubbies, there's just far too much to do and far too little time to do it.  All 11 children are newly potty trained and either obsessed with going potty every 5 minutes and washing their hands for 5 minutes each time afterward, or afraid to go when they need to go, or just can't go because the aforementioned children are on the potty all the time...  Add 6 little boys who want to do nothing but launch crayons across the room, and you've got yourself a mess.  That's our Cubbies class.  Sit in a chair?  No.  Sit on the carpet?  No.  Color?  No.  Glue?  No.  Walk in a line?  No.

They dump, they spit, they pee everywhere but in the potty, they spin, they jump, they throw, they whine, and they have one speed:  RUN.

What a blessing it was to bring home our sweet, precious children.  Two of them.  Two sweetlings I don't know how I ever complain about.  ;-)

I've been trying to run errands, kids in tow, by myself.  This is kind of a new concept for us, because of our one car deal.  We usually kind of traded off or did it all together or John did errand type stuff on his way home from work.  Well, John needs to study and I need to get out more, so here we are...running errands...every mom's joy in life.

I am seriously amazed at how well my children function on these errands.  Today, we went grocery shopping, to the library and to the mall.  Not one fit or  meltdown.  Friday, we went to the playground, the library and Target.  Again, not a single fit, accident, or any issues at all.

I was really starting to feel hopeless, worthless and terrible about Maryn's behavior around friends.  It's no news to me that sharing, for two and three year olds, is next to impossible.  Well, we are surrounded by lots and lots of children.  We can't get Maryn's bike out for five minutes without some kid wanting to ride it or stealing off with it.  And of course, it works in reverse.  Maryn wants to play with every kid's toy, ride every other kids' scooters and tricycles, eat everyone's snacks, etc.  I'm not complaining...it's great for all of us!  But some days, you know, I feel like I have a demon-possessed child.  Who will never learn to share.  Who will always covet, envy, steal, hate, hurt, etc.

I was just studying James the other day and felt so convicted by his words about envy, jealousy, and covetousness, which are throughout the chapter.  I see these sins in my daughter and I hate them, probably because I know how powerful they are in my own life.

I could try to wrap up this post very nicely, but that is all I will say for now.  I am tired.

Peace be with you :)  Truly.