AC-CEN-TU-ATE the positive...

"It's-o-k mommy" Evangeline says as she rubs my head and gives me a kiss.
"I get towel? O.K.!" she runs off down the hallway and returns with a dish rag for my head.
"All betta now? O.K!" She runs to the door of my bedroom, pushes Millie Precious out... tells me "Night Night, ya you" and slams the door behind her. Ahhh! My heart just melts.

It's been a rough week with Evangeline. I've had to discipline her constantly for... hitting baby brotha, yelling 'NO!' every time I make eye contact with her, growling at me, snapping her teeth at me like a vicious animal, hitting baby Titus (sorry Kate:), screaming for no apparent reason, spitting at me when I correct her... the list goes on.

I've been praying about how to handle her. Praying with her "Jesus, please help me to be kind." Asking experienced mothers for advice. I've tried being extra loving when I feel like she just needs attention. I've tried appealing to her emotions... "Doodle, you can't smother baby brotha. It HURTS him. It makes him cry... and turn blue."
"It's o.k. ba-by-brotha" she says, then looks at me as she 'mushes' him again.

Just as I feel I'm reaching my 'wit's end' in dealing with her... my vision starts fading in and out. My hands start going numb. Perfect, the beginnings of a migraine. I quickly call David to see how close he is to getting home... make Elliot a bottle, get Evangeline a snack, pull the shades, guzzle down some coffee and excedrin migraine... and wait.

David gets home... and I rush off to bed.

As I lie in bed contemplating whether I'd rather cut off my own pinky toe or endure yet another persistent migraine... I hear my little girl's feet pitter-patter down the hall toward my room. I brace myself for the inevitable scream... but instead, I receive compassion and much needed encouragement from my 'spirited' two year old.
I've always prayed that she would be a compassionate person, easily able to empathize with other's needs. Needless to say, I lost sight of this prayer sometime around the twentieth 'smothering incident'.... then allowed complete defeat to set in near round fifty.
But as I braced myself for the 'usual'... I was blessed with a brief window into my answered prayer. A fleeting, yet glorious reminder that God does not lose sight of my prayers.
Just another reminder that God is at work in her little soul... and in mine.

There are many negative (yet completely hysterical) things I could write about my little Doodle. But instead, I'm gonna accentuate the positive... at least for today.