flames of fire (and more)

Naissa has been asking to get her ears pierced for several months now, so I finally took her to get them pierced. She picked out the earrings she wanted and started to climb up in the chair when she all of a sudden changed her mind. Not only did she change her mind and decide she didn't want her ears pierced but she decided to let everyone in the mall know it too. As she belted out "No Mommy, I don't want my ears pierced! I just wanna go home! No Mommy" I tensed up and tried to hold my tongue. But apparently self control is one of those things I am lacking so I sternly whispered in her ear, "Be quiet or I'll give you something to holler about". That didn't work, she only got louder. Her siblings began trying to bribe and manipulate her to just get her ears pierced so we could get out of there, but that didn't work either. It wasn't as easy as slipping off the chair and walking out, Naissa had grabbed hold of her ears with both hands and could not hear any of us over her increasing cries. It was also one of those "TALL" chairs....you know the ones where us "NOT TALLS" sit there with our feet dangling because the floor is a foot and a half down and to slide off could cause much pain in the feet...like when we were kids and we would swing really really high and then jump off the swing and when we landed on the ground our feet would hurt like they'd been hit with a metal pole!

Anyway, there was no way Naissa was going to get her ears pierced, so I meanly told her that I would not be bringing her back when she changed her mind, she had embarrassed me and I wouldn't be able to show my face around there at least until Christmas time! That only made her cry more...which only ticked me off more. Thank God Jade was there. She scooped up Naissa (who still wouldn't walk or be quiet) and carried her to the car. As we were walking, Isaac slipped his little hand in mine and I relaxed....a little.

We then went to Target to get a couple essentials and while we were there Naissa began to ask for popcorn. I told her no because we were going to go home and eat dinner. She then cried (and I tensed up) and she said, "I'll get my ears pierced, I promise I will" to which I wrongly replied, "Hell No I ain't taking you back there, your dad will have to take you but after he hears about your behavior he won't wanna take you either!" And there was more crying.

I wish I had thought about pushing the pause button today. Mean words spoken out of frustration and anger. I could kick myself for withholding compassion.

I was reminded of Nicole Johnson who speaks with Women of Faith. She talked about the verses in James, about the tongue. A large forest can be set on fire by a small flame. Our tongues can be like that small flame and our words can burn pretty badly. I am an arsonist, I have started fires in my own home with my tongue...Nicole said in one of her dramas....I can relate....thoughtless...careless....angry...WORDS. Leaving my children as burn victims. But Nicole also shared that JESUS is the ultimate fire fighter!

I wish that I had a better memory...that I had taken notes...I didn't realize that she was talking about ME at the time...so I listened and I watched but it just didn't sink in...until now.

This is my JOY! Ain't she a beauty?!!

Let me just say that FORGIVENESS IS SWEET!

I don't have too many "things" that mean more to me then the pictures we had drawn of the kids at Sea World. We paid extra for them to be framed and not just sent home with a rubber band around them. I love them. I have not decorated in anything but colored plastic for many years with the exception of a few holidays and the fireplace! Above the mantle is where we have hung the portraits of the kids and on the mantle is where I keep a few precious "breakables" that have been given to me...mostly from the kids. Just about every where else has kid stuff. We have a No throwing balls in the house rule but I guess I should have added other things to the rule. Things like books...don't throw books at the pictures above the mantle!! But since I didn't say it, it happened! Isaac threw a book, shaped like a hammer, and hit Naissa's picture and it fell and the glass shattered everywhere! The picture survived with only a minor scratch and the frame was fine too, just not the glass. I scooped up as much glass as I could into a pile but didn't want to just throw all the glass in the regular trash bag and have it poking through and all so I went to find some way of disposing the glass. While I was looking, Isaac proudly brought me a bowl of glass pieces. I was not thrilled because I had told him to stay away from the broken glass. I was also NOT thrilled when I realized that the bowl the glass was in USED to be filled with popcorn but now it was filled with glass! I later found the popcorn (picture below a few)

This is where I found the popcorn dumped...in the bathroom sink...where Zack had dumped the remainder of his koosh ball!!

While my "good" camera wasn't working due to the battery being dead and the charger still being MIA, I used the old camera for a couple of things. When I went to add the pictures to my computer there were over 20 pictures on there that I did NOT take. It wasn't hard to figure out who took them!

She managed to catch her brother sitting in the turtle pool with his clothes on and a shovel! Busted!!

Naissa and Isaac have been watching that Disney movie, "Jump In" and have been playing "Double Dutch" all week long! It's cute until they holler at me to Jump In!!

This is my DUNG BUDDY.