Smelling more roses...or trying too....

On the way to a wedding a couple of weeks ago I thought I'd try and make it fun. It was a long trip so we left really early so we could stop at some parks along the way. I was so excited to just be out and enjoying the day with the kids....but alas....some days it's just not meant to be. Some days are days that I call, "hard mommy days". These days include sibling bickering, but typically and more predominately outright defiance. Overall I'd say I'm pretty blessed with great kids. They even listen pretty well most of the time. Today was not a most of the time, especially for one of them. I won't name any names, but for some reason anytime I said to do or NOT to do ANYTHING, "he" would tell me "no" or just go and do it. At first I contributed it to sitting in the car and having too much energy and needing to get out and run. It turned out that even running around didn't help... it was just going to be a growing day for me. A day when I needed to be firm and take lots of deep breathes. Honestly, I don't remember the last time he tested me so much. We actually left the wedding 2 hours earlier than I had planned because of his refusal to listen. This was after him getting a handful of other punishments including taking away video games for a week. I'm so thankful that I don't have those days every day because I'm not sure if I would still be sane. Him falling asleep that night was the best part of the ENTIRE day! Regardless, I did take some pictures when we did stop to "smell the roses". Despite the stink that I received from him, God's beauty was still there waiting for us to enjoy!