8th Day

Wisemen: These were men who studied the stars and prophecies looking for signs of God's promised Saviour.  The gifts they brought were prophetic of Christ's life on earth.

Activity: Deliver Goodies!
With Brent gone I knew this was going to be quite the feat.  Life does get easier with older children.  They all helped plate, cover and address each of the goodies for families in the ward.  It was nice.  The kids had a ball piling in the back of the 'Burb, clambering in and out and yelling at Jaren to get back in.  Jaren, being rough and tough teen, decided it was cooler to run along side, ahead, or behind the moving vehicle.  
The evening was going so well, filled with caroling, laughing, of course some bickering(we can't do any activity without a bit of that).  A few other families were going caroling and Jaren wanted to join them, well, along with being rough and tough he went without a coat.  I told him "NO" because of the lack of coat.  He was, once again, very upset with me.  This has been a common, too common, occurrence in our home lately.  It is emotionally draining.  I don't know how parents deal with teens?  I've tried to practice patience.  I'm learning there are varying degrees of patience.  I can see how one can go from very little gray hair, to more then my fair share in so little time.  **sigh**  Just take a deep breath, just take a deep breath.