Small successes = big blessings

For the last week or so I have been trying to wean my girls back off the television. We created some bad habits at the end of last month due to the bad weather and parental sickness - basically they watched for several days strait while we were just trying to survive. It took some time, but they have been doing really well now most days with the TV limits that are now being enforced and have started playing together good again after we get Heidi from school.

But yesterday was different. They asked only one time if they could watch OPB (that is all we have for TV here) and I said, "not right now." "OK" and they were off. Wow that was easy! Yeah for success - but that was only the beginning. I was doing some work on the computer and listening to them play in their room. Then things got quite - not always a good sign. I told my self to start wrapping up then go see what they were doing. Well it was another 10 minutes or so before I got back to their very quiet room, yes, it was still very quiet. I cracked the door open and this is what I saw:


Warms my heart! Heidi said she was teaching Clara to read! It was a book where there are several items on the pages with words next to them and Clara was "reading" them as Heidi pointed to the pictures. "And mom," Heidi said, "I didn't even correct Clara when she got a word wrong! I just said good job even when she called a 'stretcher' a 'bed'!"

The girls played and did chores without complaining until Daddy came home. I actually got bored at one point because I was left out of the game!

I would like to end by saying this is how my house always is, but I can't. There are still many squabbles to break up, messes to clean and tears to dry; but by taking time to remember the progress I see daily in my girls becoming ladies makes it all so much easier.