Day 5

We have started Day 5 and there are some things, I realized last night, that I wanted to note. The first observation is that food has impacted our attitudes. There have been melt-downs from the kids, less then patient responses from me, and interactions at night with W have sometimes been not as I would like. I realized by the end of the day, I'm tired and grouchy. It is busy season and that could be playing into it, but I am a person whose attitude can be impacted by food. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because my dad would get grouchy at times and he needed to be fed. I find that I am the same way. W joked that we both just needed a snickers bar last night and we would have been better.

My second observation is that the kids are learning to appreciate things so much during this challenge. Although they aren't thoroughly enjoying every moment of this, it is making them look forward to things (like their AWANA candy) and they are learning patience and self-control. We don't need to eat all the candy we are given at one time. We CAN have self-control, myself included. This is a great skill to learn early in life.

Finally, I have observed that any smell of food or commercial, drives us crazy (figuratively of course). Yesterday, I walked at the mall with a friend while the oldest girls were at music class. When we walked into the mall, Auntie Anne's Pretzels assaulted our noses. M looked at me and said, "What is that amazing smell?" I told her pretzels. She told me she really wanted one and I told her, "Me too, me too." I never wanted something so bad in my life. :)

On a side note: N's best friend called to wish her a happy birthday. N and her were cut from the same cloth and it is scary how much alike they are. We tease her that they are twins born to entirely different families. :) N has been very creative in ways trying to get around our guidelines for this challenge. Her friend G joined in on this creativity. G told her that since we can only eat rice and beans, N should ask me for jelly beans.

As we enter Day 5, I am praying that God continues to teach us things about ourselves and that He will open our eyes and hearts for the things that are important to Him. May we become more like Christ through this process.