Do over, please...

   I want a do over of 2013 so far.  I really, really hope the first week is not an indication of the rest of the year.  I thought it was pretty stinky that I was ending 2012 in bed with a migraine, but waking up and having it still linger for days was almost stinkier.  Seriously, this thing will not go away!!  Jacob's also been sick in bed...we just keep trading places, I'll be in bed for a while and he's up with the kids, then he lays down for a while and I'm up with the kids.  What a team!!

   And I want a do over because Creek is still in this "I was around grandparents, and great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and all kinds of people who thought I was completely perfect and shouldn't hear 'no' for a whole week!" phase and the retraining process is going on 3 weeks now. Thanks, fam!! We love you, too!!! (Seriously, we do love you and wouldn't have traded the time with you for the world!!)

   And I want a do over because AB started the year out in her "testing" phase and Lynnsie has become a little adamant about expressing her opinion very loudly.  And for a long time if her opinion isn't noted and agreed with immediately.

   And I want a do over because maybe once or twice in my "I feel like poop" mood, I snapped at my kids and had a crummy attitude.  Yeah, I definitely want a do over to erase that. 

   But I also want a do over because last night, as I was whispering my prayer for Creek while I rocked him and laid him into bed, I realized how quickly these days are slipping through my fingers.  That just Friday I took him for his 15 (and a half) month check up when the day before that he was only a few weeks old.  And how Anna Beth was talking about what kind of party she wanted for her 5th birthday.  Her 5TH birthday!!

   And I want a do over because I really liked watching the girls play "adoption" with their baby's and stuffed animals this week.  They had their own little adoption system and they made sure each and every one of them had a mommy and a daddy.  So I'd really like a do over to see that again. 

  Too bad we don't get do overs.  At least not in the sense that I can erase my crummy attitude.  But my kids do give me a do over...like tonight when AB told me she loved me.  And I realized that even though my attitude's been crummy and I've felt awful for several days, she loves me anyway.  And I can get a do over because my God forgives me.  And His mercies flow new every morning - even the mornings after my crummy attitude. And because of His love, He lets me see the sweet glimpses and interactions of my kids as they play things like "adoption".  And just simply playing together, no matter what it is. 

    I may not get a do over in the way I'd like, but my God is greater and stronger and His love is deeper and wider and it covers a multitude of do-overs.