Must be doing something right

Through all the turmoils, trials and strifes it is nice to see a glimmer of hope that my children are learning important things. Twice today I saw the sun glimmering through the shadows and darkness of raising a strong-willed, very stubborn 3 year old.
The first was after dinner when she wanted a snack. She said I want something healthy and was digging in the freezer when I could not understand what she wanted. I had named a dozen things from popcorn, granola, trail mix to grapes and kept getting the look that only an impatient 3 year old can give. Eventually, I heard there it is! Only to see her pull out one of our last ziplock bags of frozen berries that we picked last summer. She and her little sister then sat and enjoyed the frozen treat of blackberries, sharing fairly well. Danielle still needs some help with that but Zoe did great. They were tickled with their colorful fingers when the berries were all gone. How awesome is that for a three year old to realize there are healthy and unhealthy snacks and pick a good one, no check that, GREAT one to share with her sister. One of those shining moments.

Another one that made me SMILE big was..........
Zoe asked to sleep down on the couch tonight. She has asked to sleep there a lot lately and I have allowed her to as she sleeps all night there. In her bed, she tends to wake up at least twice. As long as sleeps all night and is willing to be down there by herself, I will not argue. I pick my battles. So she went back down the stairs in the dark on her own.........I soon heard her voice downstairs and at first I thought she was talking to the dogs...........but it went on and on. Then all of a sudden I heard a very loud AMEN! and all was quiet. So despite the fear that the child is too thick headed and stubborn to learn anything from me..............she is getting it. Something is sinking in and working in her life to know that she can have her own talk with God. It was one of those AHHHHH moments. Just when you want to throw in the towel and take the summer off ...to hear that just lifted my heart and renewed my vigor to teach her the ways of the Lord. Sometimes it seems a 3 year old just does not get it but I think she gets more than it seems at times. She is one smart cookie and likes to help but does not like being told what to do. She is the bossy one and even tries to boss her 10 year old sister around. For now, I suspect Danielle may be the bossiest of the three..I am seeing the tendencies start already.
Being Mommy and Daddy at times is hard and the girls miss their Daddy so much...............but this helped me to see that I must be doing something right while he is gone. I cannot wait for his return home and influence with the girls on a daily basis again. He is a great Father and Daddy to our girls. He is going to be so surprised at how much they have grown while he has been away. In the time he has already been gone, Kendra turned from girl to pre-teen, Zoe went from toddler to kid, and Danielle from baby to toddler. 7 months down..........8 to go!