Stress??

Since my heart rate has been high it seems that a lot of people wonder about how much stress I must be under. It seems that most people think that my children must be a cause of stress for me. I just thought I'd answer that one for sure.

MY KIDS DON'T STRESS ME AT ALL!

I mean, like any mother I get stressed if they are sick or something like that. The great thing is that my kids don't even get sick that often. They are healthy and wonderful. Other than sickness none of it stresses me.

I can honestly say that I don't get stressed by any of the behaviors that any of them exhibit. If Andrew were to eat a hole in the dry wall in his room and poop horizontally in it today, it would not stress me out! I feel blessed that he hasn't done that in probably at least two years, but the reason that I care isn't because it stresses me. I care because it means that he is getting better.

I really don't stress over behaviors and there is a reason. See, every one of my children came as a special gift. Dayton was by birth and I prayed before I conceived and the entire time he was in there (and I was sicker than a dog nearly the whole time by the way lol) and feel so blessed that God chose me to be his mommy. Each child that joined our family by adoption required three times the amount of prayer and begging to get home. I prayed for the initial match, whoever was supposed to be caring for them, the social workers to make things smooth, the paperwork to get done, the time line of bringing them home to speed up, and for them to realize how much they were loved and find their special place in our family. I realize that any behaviors or things other moms might find stressors are blessings that I begged for and am so blessed to have received. I get to be the one to help them through whatever their issues are. I am so blessed to have God answer my prayers in such amazing ways. I realize that they endured some horrible things before I became their mommy. I may have to endure some of the behaviors as a result, but being their mommy is a blessing that I begged God (and often times social workers as well) to let me have.

I can't "stress" over my blessings! I just have to praise God for them. There are days that I may vent a little. I really do usually manage to laugh over the things that happen though. I major behavior from one of my kids is no more of a stressor to me than a long line at Walmart is for most. It is something you say "Can you believe . . . . " about, but then I get the blessing that you don't get over the Walmart line - I get to see a child who is being miraculously changed by God. I even get to be a part of it!!!

So for anyone who worries about my stress levels with 12 kids, they don't stress me at all. My household is probably calmer than most households. My kids don't even fight because they can just go play with someone else, so I don't even have that normal parental stress either! :)