Day 4

Ok so today went good and bad. Today I was supposed to show interest and appreciation for the job Jon does to provide for us. On top of that I was supposed to show him that I know he works hard by letting him have some down time once he got home instead of dumping house chores on him...(like I do every single day...yes I feel badly about this but so far haven't been able to change that behavior, I'm working on it.) Before Jon went to work today I tried to ask questions about what he had planned today at work and told him that I really appreciate all the hard work he does to take care of us. I truly meant it too. I try to tell him this on a regular basis because I know that he needs that praise and thankfulness from me in his life. I busied myself with laundry when I knew Jon would be arriving home and had Aden helping me while Emma played nearby in hopes this would prevent me from immediately dumping the kids or chores on Jon. (I usually am preparing dinner when he gets home and Emma is screaming next to and Aden is making a mess elsewhere in the house which gets me all in frenzy and makes Jon's arrival home from work stressful. So today I decided a change in routine and doing something that wasn't stressful on me when he got home would hopefully prevent his arrival home from being chaotic.) It worked pretty well. He had time to get changed and do some computer stuff before the kids were demanding his attention. I don't know if he noticed or not, but I really did try my best!

Here is the "bad" part. I have found that for me to not complain to Jon about something he has done or not done, I am trying to be positive in all areas of life. Once I open the "complaining flood gates" it all comes out. Satan gets that foothold and reminds me of all the things that bother me. A friend of mine even actually emailed me today and said that I seemed "perkier" than usual! It made me laugh...apparently this positive me is noticeable to more than just my husband:) So you may be wondering why is this bad? It's bad because I'm internalizing anything negative that happens. Something small to most people but big to me happened last night (nothing to do with Jon) that really affected me negatively. I got angry then really sad and then down right depressed but because I didn't want to open those flood gates I've kept it to myself. I started to tell Jon about it then decided not to do it because we were having such a great day. So now I have to find a balance in this so that I don't internalize stuff that will end up bubbling up and spilling over later.

Tomorrows: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for
necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." Eph. 4:29

Tomorrow I am supposed to find a creative way to let Jon's family know the things I love and appreciate about him. THis should be interesting!!!