My Buddy Jim

On Saturday I went to a concert to see one of my favorite pianists.....Jim Brickman.  It was an amazing time.  The music was breathtaking.  In college, when I lived in the sorority house, I found out quickly that I had to have classical music playing in my room when I studied.  It was the only way to eliminate the external noise so I could concentrate on my work.  And I couldn't study to anything with words.  So one day my mom sent me a CD in the mail of this guy named Jim Brickman.  I had no idea who he was, but I put the music in my CD player and fell in love.  I think I can thank him for my good grades.  This weekend I finally had the chance to see him LIVE and meet him.  Amazing!

Dan is entering his second week of his job and things are going very well.  He has fallen in love with this type of work.  He is the director of all of Ohio for a healthcare company.  He has been able to solidify some contracts already with other companies and should start seeing patients next week.  He has also hired on some PRN workers so they will be available when the patient load increases.  He likes the flexibility and challenge of the job.  He has caught on fast to the business and I have seen him grow in so many areas already.  I was happy to have him join the technology world with getting his own email, Iphone and wireless printer.  We moved Mya back upstairs with the other two girls and turned her old room into an office for Dan.  That set up has worked out very well for all of us.  I homeschool in the living room and he works in the back room.  The transition into this job has been quite smooth.

Lately I have been struggling with Mya and her obsession with sugar in her body.  At seven years old she worries about eating too much sugar.  I know that comes from me and what I am teaching the kids about eating healthy.  A big part of it is personality for her.  She is very black and white and has taken what she hears me say and magnifies it.  Dan and I had a talk about it tonight to see how we could restructure things to help her divert her attention to the negative side of sugar and just enjoy being a kid and eating it.  She needs to see me enjoying sweet treats.  She watches me.  She mirrors my attitude about things.  I have struggled because I think it is hard to find the balance between cutting processed foods in many ways, yet still eating some.  All of it is about moderation.  But moderation is not a natural thing for Mya to understand.  Either you eat sugar and it is good for you or you don't eat it because it is bad for you.  It seems like there is no in between for her.  So we decided that I really need to make some changes with enjoying sweet treats in front of her and verbalize how much it is okay to eat them.  I need to relax so she can relax. 

Parenting is tough!  I think it is hard when you see something you need to change as a parent and fix whatever you didn't do right.  As parents, we are in such a constant state of learning and rearranging and trial and error.  I guess I should embrace that process because that is what creates wisdom.  And that is when God really transforms our hearts and our lives.  Change is good!

I feel like I have blogged a lot about sweet Mya lately.  I think it is because she is at the age where she is learning and growing like crazy.  She is a wonderful young lady and I am so excited to watch her grow up.  I don't mean to leave out the other two.  Sara is enjoying school at home and really bonding with little Chloe.  They have taken to each other the last few months and get along well.  They are fun girls to have around and I am so thankful to be their mommy!