Things that warm my heart

I have been wanting to write this post for awhile!  It is actually saved as a draft about 4 different times.  Now, lets see if I can remember all the things that have been running through my mind!

*We signed Sam up for baseball this year.  It was his first time playing and our first time spectating!  He did a great job and really love it BUT what really impressed me was his coach.  Couch Lou was knowledgeable about baseball and he was excited to be sharing his knowledge with a bunch of 5 year olds.  He wanted everyone to enjoy themselves and learn.  He challenged them to be attentive and involved.  He did not put up with any whining or complaining but he encouraged everyone to do their very best.  Sam learned a lot about baseball this year and he is excited about doing it again next year.  We are so thankful that men like couch Lou step up to teach young kids.  It was a big blessing!

*I have, as many of you moms can empathize with, been trying to teach my kids how to be effective helpers around the house.  The kids all have chores they need to get done.  It is often much harder to have them do their chores and keep them accountable for them than it would be just to do it myself.  I have to admit that sometimes I have to remind myself WHY  I am teaching them.  This week all of my work was rewarded in 2 different instances (Yes 2!)  The first was with Ben...what you have to know about Ben is that he is very easily distracted and he has a hard time seeing a job through till the end.  Saturday it was such a struggle to get him to do anything. Monday morning he was up bright and early ready to go.   "What is going to be my first job Mom?"  I set him to work in the car, it needed to be cleaned and vacuumed.  After about an hour  I went to look for him (he does better if you check in periodically.  Image my surprise when he was out there washing the windows inside and wiping off the cup holders.  He had already cleaned out the trash and other assorted mess (He had filled 2 trash bags Amy!  It was a mess).  He had already vacuumed and cleaned out Chris' truck as well.  He was ready to come inside and ask if he could wash it then rainX the outside windows!  When he finished all that he came inside and laid out all of the clothes he wanted to pack...and made a list of what he was missing!  He packed and then asked for more work.  The kid was on fire!  I made sure to praise him HIGHLY!  I was so proud
At the same time I had asked Hannah to be in charge of laundry for the day.  I knew there was a lot and I knew that she would not be able to finish it all.  She was not very happy about the job and she did her share of trying to get out of it but once we explained her guidelines she went to work.  I thought that she would do a few loads then run out of steam but that girl worked on the laundry consistently until this evening when she finally got the last load into the dryer!  She worked 2 days with no more complaining.  I was proud of her and she was proud of herself.  It was so rewarding to see her take joy in a job done well!
*I went back to work this year assisting in a 1-2 year old "preschool" class.  I really enjoyed working with the kids again.  I feel like this job is preparing me to go back to work full time.   I have to say that the thing that I enjoyed most of all was the person that I taught with.  We hit it off right away.  She is fun, loves the Lord, enjoys the kids and she asks lots of questions.  If you know me you are aware that I am not really a conversationalist!  :)  Amy kept me talking.  I really think that the reason I did not blog as much this year because after work I just did not have that much to say anymore!  Amy is a remarkable woman that I had the pleasure of befriending this year.

*I always worry about how the transition from school schedule to summer schedule is going to go.  We are ALL home during the summer and so it is likely that we are going to get on each others nerves a bit.  One thing that has really helped this summer is Chris.  Chris decided that he wanted to spend some time reading with the kids.  Almost everyday they gather in the living room and listen attentively while Chris reads.  They each have a list of things that they want to read with him this summer and look forward to reading time every single day.

There are so many things that have really warmed my heart in the last few weeks but they have all fled from my mind.  You know how that goes!