Brag About Friday

I would love to have some of you join in with me today for Brag About Friday. Just leave a comment telling me your brag. You can also go blog about it and leave me a comment with your blog link so I can come celebrate with you. If I get enough participation, I'll put up a Mr. Linky. I know Heather at 3 Under 3 has a great bragging post I will pretend she put up just for me ;-)

This is a bit of a long one but so worth it...

A few weeks ago I was having one of THOSE days. You know, the days when you have to walk away from your children for the safety of all involved. This was before the whole crying it out thing. The girls were fighting their naps with a passion and I was SO done!

I used to rock them to sleep in the recliner with one of each side and me sitting in front of it and singing and rocking them. It worked so well. Well, they had just started this whole make Mommy crazy thing where they would mess with each other to the point of making each other cry. That day after they had messed up the whole recliner thing, I was already short on patience. I rocked Olivia to sleep and laid her in her crib, then I rocked Abby to sleep. The moment I laid Abby in her crib, Olivia woke up. She had only slept for maybe 15 mins. So I took her into our room and rocked her back to sleep. While I rocked her I just cried and cried because I was SO tired and frustrated and really needing them to just give me a break already! I was also praying and asking the Lord for strength through this time. I remember telling him that I so wanted to say, "I just can't DO this!", but I knew that with him I could get through it. After Olivia was asleep I laid down with her in my bed. I knew she would stay asleep for a little longer. I prayed again asking for just a little time for a nap, please, please. I just needed a little bit of a rest. I heaved a huge sigh, closed my eyes...and Abby woke up.

Yeah...it was not good, people.

I left Olivia in our bed and went in to sit with Abby. She was so not going back to sleep and was just climbing and clawing all over me. All this time, Gary and I were texting. I was giving him a blow by blow :-) He could tell that I was about to lose it and asked if I needed him to come home.

Ya'll, I SO needed him to come home, but dang it! I didn't want to need him to come home. I mean, wasn't I capable of caring for my own two children, for pete's sake?? That was me at my lowest, I think; so needing help, but not wanting to ask for help. I had already asked the Lord for help and that hadn't gone according to plan. And plus, I thought of all those MOMs out there who do it every day with no help. I just felt so incapable as a mom. But, finally, I knew I needed help for the sake of the girls, because I was out of patience.

So he came home.

He walked in the door and said, "Go...go to a movie...go shopping...just go...you have the day off."

Umm...could you hear the angels singing? Cuz I sure could. They were singing loud and clear "Hallelujah!" I just started crying and saying thank you thank you thank you. And then I jumped up and was out of the house in 5 minutes. I had to get out of there before he changed his mind!

I got a pedicure and went shopping at...wait for it...a MALL! I was in desperate need for some clothes that fit and weren't t-shirts so I headed to the mall. And, oh my, it was heavenly. Possitively heavenly.

I came home refreshed and ready to get back to it.


This day did so much for my heart. It was so much more than a day off. It was a healing alone time with my own thoughts. Gary knew just what I needed and just how he could step in and do it. He is truly the love of my life. The Lord did answer my prayer with a better plan than I had, because let me tell you, retail therapy is better than a quick rest any day. I have bragged about Gary before and I know I will again. I so thank God for sending me this wonderful man.