3/30/14

Church has not always been central in my life, but I must admit that I have found amazing help there as a mother. Church as a center for raising your family is so important! Besides the guidance that I get, I have used God as a model for parenting. He is a loving Father. He gives us boundaries and rules to follow. He gives us free will and He disciplines us when necessary. See, the perfect model.
 
I have also found that God has a sense of humor.  We had three priests at our marriage ceremony.  During the service and the sermon we were told to bring forth a family. God knows me and therefore knows that I am an overachiever. I guess I really took that blessing seriously. So, we had one child. How do you explain to a little one that you love her so much you are going to have another? Two year olds can do advanced math you know. When you have one mom and two kids, that to her is division of time and attention. Little ones have trouble with the idea that your love actually multiplies. It is a miracle, but it does.
 
Suffice to say that when "Calvin" arrived, "Sake" was not happy about it.  Her first struggle was over another person getting my attention.  Her second struggle was over who was the parent.  I could not convince her that I was in charge.  I had to be very careful not to leave her alone or I was likely to find that she had taken "Calvin” out of his seat.  I also learned not to react with a gasp.  My point, no matter how much you prepare your oldest for the birth of their first sibling, it is a shock. Your oldest could react in any number of ways.  Be patient, be loving, and set those boundaries. If you don't get a handle on it right away, you have the potential to create a monster and make life miserable for yourself, your family and everyone around you.  Discipline is loving too.