The phrase I never thought I'd use...
"You're wanna go to bed without Dinner?"

Our kids where strategically tearing apart the awesome playroom they're blessed with playing a cute game of "family" the other night when it was almost time for dinner. Well, I say the kids but really it was Maggie. Jamin was taking his second nap and Izzie had grown tired of being bossed around by her "tend mamma" and was entertaining herself with random dress up.

I understand kids don't do transitions well and so I'd given the normal, "30 minutes 'til dinner" call and then wandered into the playroom to see what we were dealing with before going back to finish dinner. Holly Shmagolly! Mags had Every last food item, dish, and utensil from her kitchen in a cube...my bad, "grocery store". I took a deep breath refusing to let the words, "I've TOLD you not to do that..." creep through my clenched teeth.

Maggie mission- you have 30 minutes before dinner. It's time to clean up you kitchen. I want all of these things put back where they go so you'll be able to find them tomorrow and they won't get torn up.

Izzie's mission- you have 30 minutes before dinner. It's time to clean up all your dress-up stuff. Put in into the correct basket. I also need you to be in charge of putting all your babies away on their shelf.

15 minutes later we had fries in the over and Matt was creating "hamburger melts" on the griddle. I went back in to help finish up the cleaning. Rrrrr I found Maggie had dug out more things {where she found more to dig out I have no idea} while Izzie sat amongst her pile of dresses rocking a baby. Now, don't get me wrong, this playroom has seen bigger disasters in it's short life and this wasn't even in the top 100. I had no idea why they hadn't touched this miniscule mess. The mantra uttered in our house at least 5 times a day is, "When do we listen? 1st Time." Obedience is what we are trying to teach her. Not because I'm on a power trip 'cause honestly I have a hard time even using the phrase, "obey me" to my child BUT obedience is what God knows is best for us. As THE Father of all existence, He obviously knows what He's doing, loves us more than we could ever imagine, and ALWAYS has what's best for us in mind. I want my children to understand to 'listen 1st time'. I don't wan their testimony of coming to Christ to have crazy blunders because they were running from His perfect authority.

I showed Izzie where the basket was for her dress up stuff and then creatively {bahahaha} ask her to "put her babies to bed. Kiss them night night and make sure they all make it onto the shelf together." She liked that idea and began searching for all the dolls who belonged on the shelf. As I approached Mags, eyebrows scowling, she pretended not to hear or see me as I tried to show her that her job really was simple and that she was so good at cleaning up it wouldn't take her much time at all. Nothing. I sighed and reminded them they had less than 15 minutes. I threatened, "You can't come to the table until your job is done" which works every day at lunch time. These kiddos love doing things as a family and can't imagine missing out on our entire family sitting together at dinner.

About 5 minutes passed and Izzie emerged from the room of play. She claimed she's completed her job and ask if she could help set the table. Umm Hmm I thought and went to check. Sure enough she had finished both the dolls and the dress-up. Mags sat whining in the corner of her kitchen telling me it was "too hard" and that she would "never be able to finish". With the reminder of her skills and the simplicity of the task I went back to the kitchen to give Izzie dishes to set out.

The timer on the oven went off and we called everyone to the table. Mags sat next to her cube and the kitchen motionless yet very loud with disappointment. We began passing out dinner, prayed together, and everyone began munching. Mags whimpered and pouted, "I Can't Do It!" I don't know what she was doing in there...I mean really. No one's in there to play with. She wasn't using the toys she refused to put away. There wasn't a long trek from the mound of items back to their proper place.

Everyone finished dinner. We let the younger two watch an evening movie and hoped this would give even more insentive to clean up so she could eat and watch a movie with everyone. Nothing. We offered a special bubble bath. The time came and went. Jamin and Izzie raced up the stairs, took their bath, and headed to bed. The tantrum scream began from Mags end of the playroom. I was so frustrated that I went in and helped get the crats out where the food was to be stored. Tried to give step-by-step directions for how quickly she could finish. Just grunts and flailing legs of frustration.

Then the words came...I mean, the family table time, movie, bubble bath, the insentient count-downs for every intensives coming and going, none of it worked..."Do YOU want to go to bed without dinner?" Surely this would work. "NO!!!! I'm hungry." Awe the word hunger nearly broke me down. I was ready to send her to the kitchen to snatch up whatever unhealthiness she wanted as I quickly cleaned up her job. Then sanity set in.

This is a #firstworldproblem.

My kids is not really hungry. Did she get to eat at the time we have scheduled as a family, no. But she had a great breakfast, big lunch, all the drinks she wants, and a yummy snack. She was not in need of food. I waited. Silent. Until her fit was over. She sat there staring at me as if to say, "I'm going to win this." I walked out of the room telling her, "You have 10 minutes."

4 minutes later my Magdalene Reese Rothacher ran into the room shouting, "I FINISHED!" She had. That was how long her mission took to accomplish. Her skill set way out weighed her task at hand. I congratulated her and escorted her to the plate of cold dinner where she chowed it down consistently saying, "Daddy, this is GOOD!"

If my 4 and 1/2 year old is this stubborn with me, how cool must God be for always having patients with me. Always being kind. Putting up with my "I can't do it"s when He will NEVER ask me to do something He has equipped me to accomplish all the while walking with me through it. Woooh. God, You are GOOD!

~~~