My kid's, my heart

I've always had temper tantrums of my own big enough to rival one of the children's when it came to trying to get the "Christmas card photo." Why? It isn't because one child isn't looking or one child isn't smiling, it is because one or more of the children decide that it would be an excellent time to misbehave and show their defiant little spirits. The day before yesterday, it was the oldest child who took it upon himself to make cattle like moans, groans and Quasimodo faces. I told him to stop with threats of the PS2 becoming more of a gas than a solid, but he continued to bray and be as stubborn as the ass he was impersonating. I promptly sent him home before I prodded him too unlovingly and before my fantasy of kicking him square in the buttocks became realized. Yes, I am a mean, mean Mamma. Yesterday was a better day. The promise (read bribe) of Dunkin Donuts after church yielded better results with personalities shining through each crooked, bored or exaggerated smile. What an intense blessing to behold: my children. An amazing gift.....one that I never fathomed, nor dared to dream of. Even more miraculous is the transformation of my Spirit through God's Spirit gifting me with un-human patience and long suffering, because frankly, folks, I AM NOT THE PATIENT KIND and my children are not TYPICAL by a LONG, LONG shot.