We are practicing pausing in our house right now.
I found this quote while preparing to teach the Laurels in our ward one Sunday (We were learning about how what we say and do can have an impact on others, so I was searching for long-lasting quotes and found this gem! I couldn't find a reference, so if I ever find who actually said it, I'll update with the proper credit...) and decided that it was something I wanted to actively work on. As usual, we have several things going on that may or may not be better if we take the time to pause.
Elizabeth has decided that she needs to start walking down the stairs like the big kids. PAUSE! She is a handful enough without adding in this dangerous move.
Thankfully, prayers are answered and she remembers to at least hold on to the banister while going down.
Margaret is a bread monster! Any time I pull a loaf of bread out of the machine, she finds it and starts to rip it apart before it has time to cool. We have tried putting it anywhere and everywhere...
...including the cupboard above the fridge (that I have to stand on a stool to reach). Even then, she found a way to get her bread. When asked about it, she responded, "I climbed up the fridge like this (then proceeded to show me how her feet turned into "sticky shoes" while holding onto the handles)!" Even when she is being resourceful she choose the hard path. Definitely time to PAUSE!
Zeb and Abby had earned a movie night with friends for good behavior (see! It does happen!) but both insisted that they couldn't have one together. We had to do a BOY party and a GIRL party. Why do they start so young?!
PAUSE! It ended up being a very good thing that we separated into groups because we had 13(!) 8- and 9-year old boys come for Zeb's night. Good times were had by all as we ate through 8 pizzas, about 20 quarts of popcorn (I made 6 batches in our air popper and they ate almost every kernal!), and watched 2 movies. They were semi-sedate during the first half of the first movie...then the action started and the boys just had to join in the fun. Can't wait to do it again. PAUSE! Okay...now we might be ready.
The first weekend of October is one of our favorites because....General Conference! Our kids love having topics to listen for with rewards, of course.
I went to look for our "conference buckets" and could only find about half. PAUSE. Solution...make our own. The kids loved picking the topics and decorating the bags.
Let the listening begin!
We've tried and tried to Maggie-proof our home...to no avail! She is so ingenious and determined that nothing will stop her. For example...
The pantry cupboards (along with many others) are locked with a magnet lock. The key is normally kept high on the fridge on the side where Maggie can't climb on the counter to reach it. No big deal. She'll just push the table over, stack a chair on top, the climb to the highest point to get what she wants. PAUSE. This young angel gives us plenty of reasons to pause.
She does the same thing in our backyard when she wants to talk with friends that live behind us. She pulls over Abigail's skateboard, then stacks her bike on top, the climbs on her bike to climb to the top of the fence. I've witnessed this craziness enough to realize that nothing will ever stop this girl. She has no fear. Now to figure out a way to convince her that safety is a real concern....
Zeb and his school work. It's been a struggle, and continues to be a struggle. He just isn't interested in it. This paper is the perfect example. He does really well for the first bit, then loses interest and just does what he wants. PAUSE...breathe...try again.
Someday we'll find a way for his to be excited about finishing what he starts. Until then, we'll keep pausing.
This is just a cute picture of a project Abigail did in school...really helps to smile while we are doing all this pausing!
Our family joined Zeb's scout troop for a hike recently. We hiked 2 miles in to see some adobes built long ago by the settlers of the area. The hike was stroller-friendly, so the plan was to have the two little girls in the stroller and everyone else hiking. That lasted about half a mile. Maggie insisted on getting out to run with the big kids but her feet kept getting tired. Instead of riding in the stroller, she insisted on riding my shoulders. Oh well. I needed the workout anyway, right?! By the time we got there, Maggie had found her energy and was running and climbing all over. Shocker.
We had fun exploring (Zeb's favorite part was looking in the jail) and even cleaned up some trash. Way to go scouts!
Good times were had by all...until it was time to go home. A not-so-minor fit was thrown by one child wanting to hold a map of the area while another child would not share. Time to PAUSE again. The return hike ended up being 2 girls in a stroller, 1 girl on shoulders and 1 scout holding onto the stroller after fighting with friends. Deep breathing...By the time we got back to the cars we had all found smiles again and we glad we had the adventure.
Seems like we do a lot of pausing, but really we have more smiles than anything. I just figured I'd write about pausing to help me remember the importance of stepping back and pausing to keep the smiles coming.
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