i don't know how you do it at your house but we've really been working with avery on 'asking' us things instead of 'telling' us. for instance, i would rather hear "may i have a snack please," rather than "i want a snack." or, "will you get me a puzzle please," rather than " get me a puzzle." we're believing that this common courtesy will pour over into other areas of her life ~ that we don't get to tell people what to do and just expect them to do it....we also don't always get what we want. 1 john 4:21 says that if we love God we must also love our brother. i don't know about you, but shouting orders (i'm thinking long term here) doesn't sound very loving. we are to sing His praises with our words, not cause anger and strife. our prayer, for our family, is that the words from our mouths and the meditation of our heart will be acceptable in His sight (ps 19:14)
so.....for the past two weeks allen and i have worked hard on this and, i'm happy to say, that our strategy (completely made up by us...meaning, a shot in the dark) has worked! in the past she would state a demand, not ill mannered or rude, just telling me what she wanted. i, in turn, would respond with "are you asking me or telling me?" "asking," she would reply and then (at first) i say "well how do you ask?" and she would restate her request in a question form. soon, i didn't have to prompt her as to how to ask, she would just say "i'm asking...may i have a snack please." i thought we were on the right track but she was still telling us things much more than she was asking. so....we started ignoring her. anytime she tells us something we simply don't respond...go on about whatever we're doing and wait - you know, back to her, eyes closed, silently praying she'll know what to do next all by herself. it clicked. almost immediately she rephrases her request. we still have a really long way to go, and i don't want this to seem like more of an accomplishment than it really is. but this is a step in the direction that we hope is the right way. it's always an encouragement to hear from other moms...so tell me what works for you!
Just a couple of pictures of my two girls...they are really getting big! i looked at addison in her car seat the other day and she looked like such a big girl! they are really growing up fast and they are both so much fun right now. addison is talking up a storm, or trying to, and avery is really learning and asking a lot of questions that make me realize just how big she's becoming. i am trying really hard to enjoy each stage of their lives and hold on to each moment...they are gone before you know it!
poppy and c.d. 
