Children can be exhausting.  I know this first hand, since we have four children.  Yes, that’s right, four.  There are times when you just get worn down, get tired of the fighting, get tired of being pissed off (yes, kids are wicked smart and know which buttons to push).  Yes, there are times.  They can be tough sometimes.

But…

But, all it takes is those few times when things works out great.  When the kids are playing together so nicely.  When they are asleep and look so peaceful.  There are times when your daughter asks you teach her how to put together a power point about FInland to show the other kids where we will be going.  There are times when the other daughter asks you to lay down next to her as she drifts off to sleep – even after all the fighting.  There are times when your sons ask you to read a bedtime story and they sit close to you to watch and look at the pictures.  There are times when we do our bedtime prayer routine that one of the boys thanks God for us going to Finland.  These are precious moments.

These are the times that I hold onto.  These are the times that wipe away any anger or frustration.  These are the times that make it all worth while.  Small moments of joy.  They may not last long, but they are moments that are worth so much more than the other moments when I feel like my head will explode.  Thankfully, the other moments don’t last.  The good moments stay with me.