"There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

I've already mentioned that the boys have been fighting a lot lately...well it's been something else around here. Grant has never had much patience with Blake and Blake is so good at pushing Grant's buttons. On some days it just seems like it's constant fighting and I really have to keep them in separate rooms a lot of the time, which makes me sad. I know this is a normal part of having children, but I never expected it to start this early or be this bad and it's really been bringing me down. It's really the main thing I have to discipline about, "Don't hit your brother...don't touch you brother...don't yell at your brother...your brother had that first, give it back..." and the list goes on and on of the same sentences that I must say hundreds of times a day. Sometimes I think I should just tape record myself saying them and have it permanently playing as background noise in the toy room! They love each other dearly, don't get me wrong, but the moments of "brotherly love" are far out numbered by the moments of "brotherly shove." I think the hideous heat and humidity of August really hasn't helped either, as it's just been too hot to let them go outside and blow off some steam. The break in the heat yesterday was a wonderful gift from God. We were able to go outside all morning and it was so enjoyable. The boys were playing and having a blast together, even hugged a few times! I was so thrilled I was almost giddy! I just kept thinking that maybe their relationship is starting to mature. Ever since Blake was born, I've been praying that he and Grant will be dear friends. My sister is such a dear friend to me, and I want my boys to have that special bond. I have such a yearning in my heart for them to be close and I was praying for them as I watched them giggle and play. Then I started praying that above all, their relationship with Jesus would be the one that they hold the most high, even as their relationship with each other matures and hopefully grows sweeter with time. The verse, "There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother" kept coming to my mind and I started thinking that this was what I wanted my next blog post to be about. Of course, night time came and it just didn't happen. We took off this morning to go spend a couple of hours at my sister's house and surprise, - more fighting while we were there. I was so unhappy with Grant by the time that we left that just the stearn "I'm not happy with you look" I gave him as I was strapping him into his car seat brought him to tears. I felt kind of bad about this, but not really, seeing as I was still SO UPSET with him! I purposely drove around before coming home so that I could cool off a bit. I brought the boys in the house, along with a handful of papers they had sent home with Grant from church that I hadn't had the chance to look at yet. Started sipping my frappe from Mcy D's that I had gotten because I felt I deserved it after all of that, and the first paper I look at is his memory verse sheet. What's the memory verse for this week? You guessed it, none other than Proverbs 18:24!!! There I sat... stunned, with goose bumps and of course tears in my eyes! What a MIGHTY and INCREDIBLE God I serve!