Dewberry Deux

Ahhh, fall is finally here and, as of right now, it feels like fall. I love this weather. It showed up just in time too. Saturday we took William out to Dewberry Farms with our Bible study class. We went last year and it was HOT! The weather was perfect this year. I thought it would be fun to do a little side by side comparison of William from last year to this. I am woefully inept at getting pictures to do what I want them to so it is a bit discombobulated.

First stop, the pond. This kid loves water. 

2010 2011

Of course we had to check out the tractors...

And the goats. 

We did lots of other fun things too that he was too small to do last year.

The slides...

Playing in the sand...

Crawling through tunnels...

Running on bridges....

And climbing on rocks...

The thing about blogs like these is that you get to pick the pictures you post. You see, if you judged our day by these photos, one would think we have the happiest baby in the world. The truth is, these are the shots we took in between meltdowns. I don't know what was going on with William on this day but he had no less than 10 meltdowns. Seriously. Melt-downs.  Falling to the ground, rolling in the grass, feet-kicking, top-his-lung-crying, meltdowns. Can't ride out to the pumpkin patch right now? Meltdown. Leaving one activity to go to another? Meltdown. Have to wait in line for the slide? Meltdown. Can't ride a ride right this second. Meltdown.

 I'm pretty sure the folks at Dewberry were very happy to see us leave. To be honest, I was pretty happy to leave. 

This post doesn't really have a point. I guess I'm just venting some frustration. I know this is a phase and I know it will pass. Once again, God has reminded me how little control I have over my life. I mean, if I can't get a two-ish year old to behave in public, do I really believe I can control grown-ups? The unexpected? Finances? The economy? My health? The list is endless. 

For just a second, while we were at Dewberry Farms, I wanted to believe the lie that I was a bad mom because my kid was behaving badly. I wanted to judge and condemn myself. I wanted to put thoughts and words in other peoples minds and mouths, just imagining what they must be thinking about me and my kid. But do you know what? I didn't.  I did not feel one ounce of condemnation. Romans 8:1 kept coming to my mind, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus."

I'm not a bad mom because my kid is having a bad day. I'd be a bad mom if I didn't let my kid have a bad day.  Maybe you need to hear that too. You are not a bad mom because your kid is behaving badly. Your kid is human. They will have bad days and you will too.  There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for those who are seeking Him, serving Him, loving Him. Be free, my friend. Be free. 

So...either because I'm a very gracious mom or because I love abuse, we already have another trip to Dewberry Farms scheduled in November. Prayers are greatly appreciated. I'll let you know how it goes...