A Night to Remember

It was a great night.  A perfect night actually.  The boys were snuggling on the couch watching a cartoon (seriously they were all cuddled in the corner of the sectional) while I made dinner and prepared a lesson for Family Night.  After a relatively calm dinner, Randy arrived home and it was like a switch had been flipped.  Instantly the boys were yelling, wrestling, and arguing.  Within seconds Ethan was dramatically crying, Marcus was yelling and slamming doors, and Landon was running through the chaos and shooting everyone with his laser gun.

I just smiled and Randy looked at me like I had lost my mind.  "Just let it go,"  I told him as the noise escalated around us.  "This fits in perfectly with our lesson tonight on being slow to anger."  After calming the chaos we began our Family Night with each boy getting his one minute to shine.  Marcus performed his latest and favorite piano song, Ethan told us a story, and Landon pounded on the piano.  After a prayer and a song I taught a short lesson that involved hammering nails into a board.  Of course the boys loved this part.  They were very attentive and quiet so I knew what I was saying had struck home.  For the activity Marcus and Ethan had to work together to build a structure using marshmallows and tooth picks.  The only guidelines they were given were to work together and not lose their tempers.

In the middle of all this Landon snuck out to use the bathroom.  He came running back into the room, sans clothes, and shouted, "I went pee-pee in the potty!  Come see!"  The whole family cheered and ran into the half-bathroom so Landon could proudly display his business.  We all celebrated his success as we cheered, jumped up and down, and gave high fives in the tiny bathroom.  The only thought I had at that moment was this must be what heaven feels like.  It doesn't matter where we're at, if we're all together and everyone is happy I'm in heaven.