Allow me to feel sorry for myself....

Here she is......all cleaned up!

I just need a little sympathy. I know this post is going to sound like I'm having a pity party, which I am.....but don't we all once in a while? My morning started out with freezer cooking 12 meals, while watching three kids. I'm in a freezer cooking group, but can't make the date they scheduled this time so I decided just to do it at home. Not really realizing it, I picked a couple pretty time consuming recipes, but still, I made ok time and was done 3 hours later. My kitchen, however was in such a state that I would not even let my best friend inside my house. The kids were beggin to go outside so we went out for about a 1/2 hour and I put all thoughts of my messy kitchen out of my mind. It felt so good to get some fresh air, what a beautiful day. So back inside, I started lunch, while tackling a bit of the kitchen. The kids were fed, Anna was well ready for her nap, (did I mention she was up at 5:45 this morning, as well as every day this week?) so I lay her in her crib and warning her not to climb out, and to go to sleep. I am well prepared for at least 5 crawl outs and put back ins, but instead I hear silence and give myself a little pat on the back. Yay, we're making progress with the whole crib climbing thing.



I set Wyatt and his friend (my little day-care boy) down on the couch with a stack of books and say "look at these and when I'm through with the kitchen I'll come read some to you". All is well, the boys are behaving so I dig into the kitchen. Dishes done, counters wiped down....now onto the floors. But then I hear something coming from the hall. I glance at the boys still seated and looking at their books. I listen and again I hear a noise from the bathroom. I head into the bathroom to find Anna with a bare, poop covered bottom, up on the counter of the bathroom trying to wash her hands. The first thing I do is look around for the diaper, praying she just now took it off. Nowhere. I go into her room and this is what I see: a full diaper of poop laying on her changing table, and poop smeared all over her changing table, changing table pad, and several spots on her carpet.



I have just now finished cleaning up the mess (still have my kitchen yet to go). I can't help but realize how insignificant this is in the grand scheme of things. It will go down in history and be re-told around the dinner table I'm sure and even now I'm already smiling. Isn't it good in the midst of our frustrations as a parents, God has made our children so incredibly lovable, despite all they do to frustrate us? After her bath I set her on her changing table and that's when I realized that she was trying to be an independent little girl....climbing out of her crib and up her changing table to change the diaper she knew was poopy and then realizing she had it all over her hands, and going to wash those as well. I couldn't help but look at her and say, "Do you know that I love you even when you smear poop all over yourself and your room?"



My heavenly Father feel the same about me. I know I make a "mess" of things at times. I try to clean things up on my own without asking for his help. But even when I've smeared poop (so to speak :) all over something, He still loves me. He covers all my shortcomings and cleans me up. I'm grateful to be reminded of that today.

I'm also grateful for Kirkland household wipes cause I used about 40 of them on Anna's mess!