I came home from work early yesterday afternoon to find that Joel and Chalice were extremely tired! Joel would NOT take a nap and Chalice was woken up by Joel’s crying. So, when I got home, I calmed Joel down a bit and took Chalice back into her room. It was so funny when I first picked her up. In the past, I have not been a very good daddy when Chalice cried. I did not like hearing the screaming, so I would pick her up and put her in her crib to cry away! This is not a good parenting technique, and Joli has, in her perfect way, reminded me that I should not provoke my children to wrath! :O) So, Chalice was crying at the feet of Joli, who was studying, and I came in and picked her up. Chalice knew exactly what I was going to do and quickly clinged to Mommy! It was too funny! She bent over backwards when I swooped her up in my arms and headed for her room. This time, I laid down on the large green beanbag with her still in my arms. The second she realized I was not putting her in her crib to howl away, she started to settle down!

Here is the best part, I was able to calm my little girl down until she fell into a deep sleep on my chest! I cannot remember a time when she ever fell asleep on my chest! It was one of the coolest moments with Chalice! It has taken me awhile to get use to having a little girl around the home. She is so sweet and innocent even when crying! Me? well, I am a pretty selfish father who enjoys peace and quiet! So the Lord is teaching me to love my children unconditionally as HE loves us. He does NOT love us because of our performance, nor should we love our children more if they behave! I am learning more about how I am to be a loving and caring father, and what awesome examples us fathers have for us in the Scriptures.

Ok…so the sweet and calm daddy/girl time I had with Chalice lasted about 30 minutes. I then heard a VERY loud crash in Joel’s room, and I knew I had to check on him. When I moved Chalice into her crib, she woke up and did not sleep again. By the way, Joel was fine! Oh well…fun while it lasted!