Freedom to be themselves

My husband and I are reading Grace Based Parenting with our small group friends, and it's been enlightening. Remembering that our kids were created uniquely, we show them love and grace when we accept them for all their quirks, weaknesses, and strengths.

Bella is revealing more and more of her mom's personality as she expresses herself in so many different ways, struggles with organization, and needs to have time with friends on a regular basis.  Her room says so much about her- even when it's mostly clean:

She adds to her art gallery weekly with just about anything she decides is important: post it notes, stickers, notes from friends, etc.  I love seeing how she sees things.  It may not make a lot of sense to us.  It may look messy.  But it's absolutely Bella.  I hope she always finds joy in little homemade art projects.

Brody's in that great preschool stage where you're never sure what's going to come out of his mouth- boy gross or sugar sweet ;-)  He loves superheroes- which shouldn't surprise anyone if they remember his sound effects before he started talking.  His room is still very basic, as he doesn't spend a lot of time in it unless his sister visits or friends come over to play.  Naps no longer fit into his daily agenda, even though he can't last until dinner time given the chance to find a place to crash:

I hope my kids find confidence and security to be themselves at home, learn to work through their weaknesses, and use their talents to make a difference in the world.  It all starts at home- loving them for who they are.

And when I'm out of patience, I hope I can see something amazing, adorable, or terribly funny to bring me back to loving these little, unpredictable people.  Because those are the moments that you see a little bit of God.