April 8, 2012

Patience days 4, 5, 6, and 7

It's been awhile since I last blogged. Jenna had spring break, so we decided to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa Starkovich in Arizona!
Before we left, we took my Grandmother, Shirley, out to dinner for her 79th birthday! It was a great opportunity to talk about patience with the girls. They were starving by the time we got to the restaurant and we all had to wait a long time for our food to arrive. I remember Jenna telling me that she was trying really hard and persevering to wait patiently (I knew what she meant and it was so sweet to hear). 
We also talked about how when we are waiting for something, like for food to arrive at a restaurant, we can do things that help pass the time. We played tic tac toe, we colored, we talked about our day, we asked Grandma Shirley about her day, we took a walk to look at the creek, and ate some bread. All these things kept the kids (and adults) entertained while we waited for our food. We had a great dinner and a fun night celebrating my favorite grandmother!


The next day we talked more about doing things to help pass the time, while we are waiting patiently. 
We had a LONG car ride ahead of us- 12 hours to be exact! So I had the girls pack some toys and their favorite books to read in the car. I also packed a lot of snacks and of course some movies to watch while on the road. All of these things, and a few long stops along the way, made our car ride to Sedona, AZ as good as to be expected with an 11 month old, a 3 year old, and a 5 1/2 year old in a cramped Toyota 4 Runner (=
We had a lot of opportunities to discuss patience last week and probably exhausted it on the car rides alone!

Patient: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint

I love this definition! The girls have a tendency to whine or complain when they are waiting for something. Teaching them how to wait- without complaining has been so rewarding to everybody in the family! I find that when I say "We have to be patient"  they now, truly understand what it means. They now have the tools to wait nicely (as we call it) and have a better attitude while they are waiting. 

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