Good Times!

I'm going to brag about my kiddos for a moment. I feel like I have shared some of the bad and the ugly, so here's the good. Last Friday we drove the over 2 hours to Atlanta. Big Dad (Tom's dad) was coming for a visit, and we decided to go ahead and make a day of it. We went to the Children's Museum and had A BLAST! I saw good behavior, right choices, consideration of others, sharing, patience, kindness (and a couple other fruits of the spirit). The boys were super. Granted, we were in a giant center of childhood goodness- painting, moon sand, water activities, hands-on learning, tap-dancing (seriously), and kid-centered activities, so what kid wouldn't be in a good mood? Regardless, I have to brag on their behavior. The flight for Big Dad was delayed, so we had more time than we had originally planned. Sooooo, it was on to IKEA (a mommy-sized playground). After a quick stop at the snack bar (who can resist a 50 cent hot dog?) I got to do a little browsing while Tom and the boys played in the children's area. At this point I was wondering how long our blissful outing would last since Jack hadn't had a nap. Meltdown in T minus...how long? Nope! He hung in there like a champ! We picked up Big Dad after 5:00, so we wouldn't be back home in time for a reasonable dinner time, so we stopped at a restaurant. Reality check, Staci! Since the kiddos had been sitting in the car for over four hours over the course of the day, I was wondering if I was mildly insane or if just delirious with pride and over- confidence for my well behaved, non-shrieking, sans melt-down, calm and sweet children. They were great in the restaurant too (we did have to take away the chop sticks since Jack has a "sword of the Lord" thing going on- thanks, Loni)! Even so, it was a day in which we saw a level of maturity (if you can call a Children's Museum mature), flexibility, and cooperation that was totally encouraging! Maybe I don't give them enough credit sometimes, or maybe there is more seeping into those little heads and hearts than I think. We had so much fun with them! Good memories!