Children and Messes

It seems like I can't take Staci anywhere without her causing some sort of trouble. A friend of mine at work commented the other day that Staci sounds like Dennis the Menace based on the stories I've told about the messes she gets into. Like what? Well, for example, the first week we moved into our new place (rental house), Staci did the following: 1. Got into the pink paint I used for Shauna's room, and spilled it on the carpet and left splotches on the wall by the closet (which I still haven't touched up with the white paint, and we've lived there a year). 2. Poured a whole bottle of baby bath soap on her brand new bedroom carpet. 3. Completely destroyed the brand new blinds in Shauna's room. 4. Tore off the wallpaper border I had stapled (for easy removal if we ever move, so we wouldn't have to deal with wallpaper glue). Yes, the wallpaper border is still half on/half off. :) That was all in one week. And yes, it was a year ago, but there've been things after that too, especially regarding markers.

What do Daddy and the girls fight about the most? MARKERS. Because the girls, Staci mostly, but Shauna has too, like to draw on themselves. Red markers for blood, blue markers or highlighters for "makeup" so they can look like Hannah Montana, and so forth. One time one of the girls was complaining about their ear hurting - I looked, and the veins looked terrible, so I said turn around, let me see your other ear that's not hurting - it looked the same ... what do you know? They had drawn with light blue marker on their ears! I yelled (yes, I admit it) at the girls "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TELL IF SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH YOUR EAR WHEN YOU DREW ON IT WITH A MARKER? GO TO BED."

Last night we had a wonderful time at Marissa's house giving Jenna a baby shower for her beautiful boy, Cohen. (See http://www.mmspage.blogspot.com/ for pics of Cohen.
When we first arrived at Marissa's house, Alyssa, Marissa's daughter, told Staci not to go upstairs. The next thing I know, Staci comes downstairs with black ink on her hands. She had gotten into Alyssa's drawer, where she had a feather quill and black ink well. Alyssa was devestated, and I felt terrible. There was black ink all over her antique desk, area rug, floor, and the walls going from upstairs to downstairs. The ink came off the walls and actually off most of the desk, but the rug ... I'll have to replace that - and I don't even know where to START looking, because they bought it at a yard sale.
{Sometimes I think I'm somewhat smart, and then something like that happens, and it puts me in a daze = what am I supposed to do now? God, please help me.}
I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry" seems so inadequate sometimes.

Oh, the joys of being a parent! It seems like I can't take my eyes off of that kid for a few seconds without her getting into something. I know she's only 4 1/2 years old, and I should be more patient. Of course, then, God reminds me that He as our Heavenly Father is disappointed in us so much more than we will probably ever be with our children. I'm sure if I allowed myself enough time to think about it, God could remind me of many times that I've created messes and confusion in my life too.

I love my children dearly, even if they do act like Dennis the Menace or Little Miss Bossy. One of my favorite sayings to the girls at bedtime is "Daddy loves you, Mommy loves you, Grandma loves you, Aunties and Uncles love you, but Jesus loves you most of all."
It's truly amazing when we think about just how much Jesus does love each and every one of us. I don't think we can even begin to comprehend just how much Christ loves us - Our God is an Awesome God!

I don't have a picutre of the ink mess, but this one shows how Staci is always doing silly/crazy stuff. Here she is "sleeping" in the windowsill at the local Wendy's fast food joint.