This afternoon was a rough one on the parenting front. One of those days where you can't figure out the right way to handle a situation to get through to your kid that they need to STOP. Stop talking back and stop being disrespectful. Throughout the afternoon Kellan lost pretty much all of his privileges and that didn't seem to phase him and he continued making the same poor behavior choices. I was at my wit's end. The night ended with him losing his favorite stuffed animal that he sleeps with every night. Drama of course ensued. I removed all toys from his room and his pups. He gave pups a dramatic goodnight and goodbye with a promise to see him tomorrow and instructions not to bite us (ha!). He cried in his bed through our prayers. He cried when I wearily walked out of his room just thankful that he was finally in bed and I could be done parenting for the day. As I walked out Andy walked out from tucking Drake in and picked up Pups in the hallway to head to Kel's room. "Huh?! Are you going to reward him for his awful behavior today?!" No, just wait out here I want to talk to him. So he hides pups behind his back and sits down on Kel's bed to talk. I stood outside the door and listened to him talk to Kel. Tears started to flow because he is so amazing at this parenting thing and the boys are so lucky to have him.
He sat down next to Kellan on his bed and asked him if he knew what grace was (he didn't). Andy went on to explain in four year old terms (keeping it short and sweet) what it was, why it's important, and how God showed us grace when he sent Jesus to die on the cross to save our sins. He explained that grace is forgiving someone when they don't deserve to be forgiven in that moment. As he was explaining he would stop every so often and ask Kel a couple questions to make sure he was really understanding what they were talking about. He ended his chat with him by reminding him how much he loves him and that the consequences he received today for poor choices were because we love him and want him to grow into a respectful young man, not because we want to see him upset. He pulled pups out from behind his back and tucked pups in next to Kellan and said that even though his behavior was poor and did not warrant getting pups back he was going to give him grace tonight and return pups to him. He quickly added that all the other privileges that he has lost for tomorrow would stand and that disrespectful behavior is not okay. Kellan piped up "Dee Dee, giving me pup's back isn't just grace, it's LOTS and LOTS of grace" as he sat up and gave him a big hug and kiss. Andy said goodnight to Kel, tucked him in and walked out of his room.
I fell even more in love with my husband tonight, and I didn't think that was possible :) The way he parents the boys and knows just the right things to say to connect with them and help them understand things just amazes me. Well done babe, well done! Now, let's go drink some much deserved wine because oh my, today was crazy!!
