Biology.

I will probably write many posts concerning this topic.  It seems to be important to some people.

Today I felt great about it, because I had an adoption class.  Our agency has a.m.a.z.i.n.g. classes for parents to take before their children come home.  We should all take classes.  I realized so many things I do wrong with my children now.  I feel great about being able to redo some of my mistakes and show my children where I was wrong.

Our teacher today started out with a powerful quote, "Research in neuroscience shows how we parent our children affects their brain biologically."  No matter how our children come to us, friends, we as parents affect them biologically.

I was taken that moment.  Taken.

Biologically?  Wow.  I can affect my sons biologically?  I can encourage them, praise them, discipline them, and above all love them and this in turn will affect them biologically?

How amazing is that?  I have the weight of affecting my boy's lives biologically.  We will teach our sons how to live moral lives and they will pass this on to their children and their children's children.

This is nothing short of miraculous.

We will love our children above all else.  We will encourage our children to love their neighbor as God has loved us.

How about another one?  Are you ready for this?  I almost cried when our social worker/teacher told us this.  I almost said, "You have no idea how much you have lifted me up, thank you!"

"Our mistakes as long as we repair them will make our children stronger in the long run.  So if you make a mistake and you apologize and repair that mistake, your children will be stronger because of it."

Did you just read that line? 

Did you hear me when I said your children will be better because of you repairing your mistakes?

She then said, "Our shortcomings are a good thing, as long as you see them and address them."

I breathed a big sigh.  I am human.  I will continue to make mistakes, but I must address those for my children.  I must continue to put myself in time-out like I did this week, and tell my children I messed up and mommy is in trouble for it.  30 minutes won't work for her time-out but let's drop it down to 4 minutes?  (Cealy kept saying, "Mommy, please get out of time-out.  I forgive you."  I yelled by the way because she threw a book.  I needed the time-out)

I love to learn.  I hope to learn how to parent, teach, and be a better person altogether until God brings me home.