A Story of Two Houses

Welcome back! Tonight, I want to start by discussing a little parenting dilemma :-) Caleb threw his first full-blown tantrum this afternoon, and his daddy and I were at a loss as to how to handle this out of control toddler. You see, Caleb has grown quite fond of the Thomas the Train and Chuggington apps on the iPad. We used them, apparently too much, to pacify the little man on the exceedingly long plane rides to Columbus, OH and back last weekend. Well now, Caleb thinks he needs to play them all the time...whether we are on a plane, or sitting on the couch. The child clearly needs a bit of detox! Just a note...detox is NEVER fun. We had to move the iPad and the cover completely out of view for him to stop obsessing, we tried distracting him with everything imaginable, we tried to feed him, take him outside, put him in time-out, and even put him down for a nap. Toddlers have the strongest one-track mind. Our refusal to allow him to play came with some seriously strong consequences, over several long hours. Yes, he eventually succumbed to exhaustion, but not without upsetting the whole household before giving up. Here is our dilemma...

Do you discipline during a tantrum? The minute and a half in the time-out chair definitely allowed him to catch his breath, but he went right back to the wailing after he got up. I don't think I believe in spanking during a tantrum because, truly, the child hardly seems like he's in his right mind! I tried to hold him and comfort him, reassuring him that all will still be well in the world if he didn't get his game, but he took turns pushing both of us away. Is teething a factor? Probably. Was he overly tired? Absolutely. Was part of this just typical toddler behavior? Most definitely. So, here is my question for you...what do you do at your home in the midst of a tantrum? Time-out? Spankings? Loss of privileges? Time alone in their crib? Hug and comfort? I'm open to any and all comments. I have a strong suspicion that this will not be the last tantrum, even if we do accomplish a full detox from the train apps...oh technology, you are so good, yet so bad!

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! On to the exciting happenings...nearly one month ago, The Lord told my husband and I to put our house on the market. It was a huge leap of faith, as we had no where to go, and we really had no good reason to leave our current house, other than the fact that it's a bit too pricey for our current situation. You see, we bought this house and then quickly found out that we were pregnant with Caleb. In the months that followed, we decided that I would stay home with him, which meant that our income went from two comfortable salaries to one. While He has remained faithful in providing us the necessary resources to live comfortably, this house has felt like more of a burden, rather than the blessing it was intended to be. We contemplated selling last year, but the real estate market had not picked up enough to warrant a good effort. Thankfully, it seems to have made a come back in the Colorado Springs area this year! After meeting with our realtor and agreeing to prepare our home and list it, we prayed. Lord...show us where to go. Show us what you want us to do, and open our hearts to the next phase that you have in store for us! Well, what do you know...

One week later, a cute little bungalow came up on the market, not even five minutes from our current home. We went to look at it the first afternoon it was listed. I walked in and cried...happy tears :-) Have you ever seen evidence of God simply loving you by blessing you with desires you have never even uttered aloud? This was that house. This was our dream house. It certainly would not classify as a dream house for many, but it does for us. It is the exact style of our first home that we fell in love with in Virginia. At half the size of our current home, it has beautiful hard wood floors, a gorgeous kitchen, original woodwork throughout, French doors off the master onto a lovely deck, a separate playroom, a series of "secret" closets and passageways for little boys and their imaginations, aspen trees all around the yard, an oversized garage with a manly workshop, a spot for an RV, a main-level laundry room, a mud room, a cellar (or a "bunker" if you ask my husband!), a formal dining room, picture windows with a view of the mountains, a guest room and bathroom, a scrapbooking/craft nook, lots of storage space, a log cabin playhouse, a swing set, a huge yard, tons and tons of character, and a hot tub. All of these sweet desires, many of which we have never spoken aloud, for over 100k less than our current house. This is the kind of house we have been waiting for...and I now know that God was just waiting for us to take a leap of faith on our current home before He would lovingly provide our dream home.

Long story short...our offer was accepted (not without a bidding war!). So then, the task came to prepare our current home for the market with massive packing, staging, and cleaning. Our goal was May 3, and we made it! Caleb sweetly helped along the way, and then happily went to play at others' homes while I finished up...after all, toddlers can only "help" so much :-) We literally vacuumed ourselves out of our house on the morning of May 4, and took off to see my amazing brother graduate from The Ohio State University. So proud of him! As we were pulling into the gate at the Columbus airport, my phone rang. Yea I know, it shouldn't have been on! It was our realtor. We received an offer, a GREAT offer, on our house! In less that 24 hours! If that isn't God, then I have no explanation. Yes, the market has picked up, but I didn't think we would get an offer that quickly. We did a few negotiations, and we were under contract by the next morning. Another couple came to see the house, and they told our realtor that if anything went awry with our current deal, they are next in line. Praise God!!! While it is absolutely wonderful to be under contract, I would be lying if I didn't express my extreme delight in not having to keep a house in "show condition" with a toddler. I truly didn't know how I was going to do it!

I say all of this to encourage each of you. While we have waited for two years for a shift in our house/financial situation, maybe you have waited that long, or even longer, for some type of monumental change in your family. Don't give up hope, mommies! He is so faithful to provide just what we need at just the right time, sprinkled with sweet blessings that could only come from the Father who loves us so much. Even through situations that can seem unbearably challenging, He can bring ease and fluidity. Sometimes He asks for our assistance, and sometimes He simply asks us to sit back and watch His beautiful work. Keep praying for that marriage, that child, that financial crisis, that parent, that attitude-shift. I pray that this story will be a testimony to His greatness, and I look forward to hearing your testimonies of His greatness, as well. Until next time...

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9