Surprise!

We dropped my almost 13 y.o.daughter off for a week of camp last Sunday.  We get to pick her up on Friday.  (Yay!!)  I miss her tons:  For selfish reasons- as she is the most helpful child in the family being the first child who is a girl and for more selfish reasons- that I just love her so much, and she is at that age where she will come to me and have these long, wonderful conversations that I will always treasure in my heart.  

Now, I love my two boys just the same.  They are boisterous from early in the morning until late in the evening, much louder, and generally much less thoughtful of the things they do or say before they do or say them.  Oh, yeah- and they have some amazing qualities, too.  Really they do, and I haven't had the opportunity to talk about those amazing qualities on the blog yet.  This is mostly because their less amazing qualities lately have been overshadowing their amazing qualities.  

For example, the 10 y.o. LOVES to help me with most anything involving outside work: washing vehicles, taking out trash, gardening, letting the dog out, etc... 

BUT... This week my sweet, ten-year-old boy had a wonderful surprise for me.  It was the best kind of most-of-the-week surprise party I could have asked for, and I'm pretty sure he didn't necessarily even plan it on purpose.  I didn't ask for it either.  Under this mostly loud (at home,) boisterous boy is a boy who is nurturing, caring, thoughtful, and sweet.  He doesn't express it the same way his older sister expresses it (he is definitely still louder in his mannerisms...,) but he took it upon himself to step up to the plate and be the most awesome son and big brother ever this week!!  

I have to confess that I didn't expect this at all.  I was expecting this boy to be a thorn in my side all week.  I feel bad that I was expecting this.  Really, I do.  But, his 10 year-old track record lately has not given me reason to expect bigger things this week.  There has been a lot of discipline and "teachable moment" kind of talks- all of which seemed as if they didn't even begin to penetrate his 10 year-old boy brain.  But, through the many prayers that went alongside this tough parenting I was able to see some glimmers of hope that perhaps some things WERE seeping into his brain and staying there.  And, it reminded me that all of this time and energy devoted to guiding my children is not in vain.  It is for a greater purpose. This week I was reminded of the great things that lie ahead for my dear, sweet 10 year-old boy- even though there will be plenty of "thorn in my side" moments ahead for the two of us.  I know that God has big plans for my boy, and I really am glad that I get to be a small part of the process. 

Well... I try to be glad, that is.  Sometimes the discouraging times overshadow the encouraging times, though.  This was just the encouragement I needed to remind me how important it is to stay the course.  I will pray for some extra encouragement for September, because I'm sure that I will need some more by the time school has started again and my job (& his work) intensifies. ;) 

My buddy & big fish he caught last Fall.

We drop off this sweet boy to camp for a whole week this coming Sunday.  (Yes, it's his turn to go to camp, and he is super excited for another year away at camp!)  I love him, and I'll miss his sweetness and good-natured self while he's away.  I'd like to say that I won't miss his loudness, but maybe I will.  Maybe one day I will even treasure that loudness in my heart.  Maybe.  

~Michelle