Rewards definitely come in "moments"

"Moments" is the key word for me right now. Jackson is teething, and about as ornery as he's ever been. At best it helps me appreciate how good-natured he usually is, at worst it makes me want to huddle in the corner with my fingers in my ears singing, "la-la-la-la-la!" loud enough to drown out the fussing/crying.

Today, right after Joni threw a tantrum that should have qualified for some kind of record, I picked up a screaming Jackson, who had been fussing/crying most of the day...only to find out he had a MAJOR blow-out. I tried to keep my calm, grabbed the changing pad, and laid him down. As I grabbed the bottom of his pants and pulled them off in one swift motion....SPLAT! Runny, chunky poop splattered across my pants and shirt (picture flicking a very wet, sloppy paintbrush, and you'll get an idea of what this was like).

I took two deep breaths, mustered up any amount of dignity I had left, and wiped away the biggest blobs of poop first - all while Jackson laid there screaming his little head off. I got him cleaned up, changed my clothes, washed my hands, and put him down for a nap. (Did I forget to mention the part where Tom called home right in the middle of this and I whipped out my ugly-amy-voice, and finally hung up in frustration and overwhelming stress? Yeah, not my best day).

But then there are the moments that are so precious, they make it all worth while. A couple of months ago Tom walked in on Joni scrunching her eyes shut really tightly. He waited a minute and finally asked, "Joni, what are you doing?" Startled, she opened her eyes and answered, "I'm trying to think about Jesus." Awwwe!

Then yesterday, amid Jackson's fussiness, Joni said, "He's just sad because he misses Jesus." I said, "How do you know that?" She answered, "I know, because I miss him, too."

Moments like that just make my heart melt into a big puddle...."moments" being the key word. :)