A Crown of Thorns

I woke up to a puking child this morning.  It was too early.  Then I started to fall asleep again and another child came poking me and asking me very loudly for a baba.  I did not get very much sleep two nights in a row.  So as I started the day I was very crabby and on edge.  Then someone spilled cereal in the living room after all the children were repeatedly told not to bring food into the living room.  Then the same child got angry at her cereal for being soggy and dumped it on the floor in the kitchen...It was destined to be a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.

Then my toddlers were very naughty at church today and they were very, very naughty at the post office.  But they helped me make a neat crown of thorns bread I saw on the Catholic Icing website.  I used to hate it when kids would help me make food, because they would always make more mess than it was worth.  Or would want to do everything even though they could not physically help with all parts.  These two girls though want to help me everyday. They listen, take turns and do a very good job.  I envision two teenage girls someday who beg me to let them make dinner.

I was so happy about my crown of thorns bread, I had to complete the picture.  I brought out the children's picture Bible and turned to the story about Christ being tempted in the desert to explain the lenten fast.  We read the story while they ate.  We had lentil soup and bread.  Then I put a tablecloth on the table, which I never do these days for one simple reason: it would never stay on with my very silly little girls.  Dinner would be dumped on the floor before I could say, 1, 2, 3.  But after a hard day of disciplining one naughty child in particular, I was going to have order; I was going to have a tablecloth.  In a crazy, mommy moment, I stapled the tablecloth to the underside of the table with an industrial stapler.  It's a plastic tablecloth.  I can wipe it down.  I told my husband to get used to the tablecloth, because its stapled down.  For the moment, I'm pretty pleased with myself.

I could see that this day was a spiritual test.  It was a trial.  I'm not sure how I did, but I made it through.  It was not as terrible as it began.  I hope my kids learned something about how they ought to behave.

Mno Hiya Lita!