"I love you, Mommy."

As frustrating as Megan is, I hear this phrase very often from her these days. Megan and James both often tell us that they love us just because they feel like telling us. It is amazing how much anger and frustration can be defused by such a simple phrase.

I like to think that maybe they tell us this spontaneously because they learned it from us. But I don't know if we can really take credit for it; it comes from their hearts and, as manipulative as she is, I believe Megan (and the boys) have very loving hearts. Sometimes, when I'm being hard on myself, I think that they only love me because every child loves their parents and forgives them indefinitely at this age, no matter what actions the parents do; I've heard a myriad of instances where abused children defend their violent parents.

But when I've had a good day and I believe my role as mother is of value, I own up to my accomplishments and realize that, despite my shortcomings and many mistakes, I am a good mother. These days, I can actually see every single day that Rex and I have taught our kids well. From questions James has about the actions of others, to Megan giving hugs to James when he comes home and saying she loves each of her family members by name, to pointing to pictures of Jesus and saying He's their friend, it has become quite evident that all the hard work has not been in vain. And I cannot say that it is all from their teachers, because, as everyone should know, the foundation of everything a person learns comes first from their home.

Yesterday, Isaac, who mimics his big sister (the good and the bad), said, "I love you, Mommy." And yesterday when it was my turn to do storytime, Isaac kept pointing to the pictures of Jesus and exclaiming "Jesus! Jesus!"

So I must be doing something right....