I love Jesus! (and a few other thoughts)

Our sweet Jordan is just a little over a month away from being 2.

We are experiencing a new side of Jordan called TODDLERHOOD. Dr. Dobson warned me of this phase, but I always assumed that my sweet little Jordan would NEVER choose to be defiant . . . he is just so gentle and loving! :) Well, this weekend proved otherwise.

To make a long story short, Jordan chose this past weekend to test ALL of his limits with Nate and I. We spent most of the day Sunday listening to temper tantrums, warning Jordan of the consequences, and following through with discipline . . . over . . . and over . . . and over again. There was even about a 15 minute period where Nate and I gave ourselves a "time out" and sat on the couch together and prayed--no, begged--God for wisdom and help with our new little toddler-man. Needless to say, we were both WIPED OUT by the end of the weekend (as was Jordan, who slept from 6:45pm-7:30am).

Today has proved to be a continuum of Jordan's testing, as I had to revisit Jordan's bedroom 4 times at nap time to remind him that it was nap time and not time to knock on the door, scream, throw books at this window, and even dismantle the door knob protector so that he could come and go from his room as he pleased. Wow. He did finally surrender and is sound asleep now, which is what I should be doing as well.

In all of this, I am reminded (thank you, Jesus) that God is FOR us, not against us. God is FOR Jordan, for our family, and for His glory in our home and in our children. We are not defeated; rather, the Holy Spirit will give us enough grace for every single day, along with patience and wisdom and love for this new phase.

We love love love love love love Jordan . . . with all of our being! We just want the very best for him, and we believe with all of our hearts that consistent discipline and rewarding his good choices will be worth it in the end! :)

Love you, sweet boy!