I love those moments when your heart bursts with joy at seeing your kids demonstrate wonderful positive characteristics that make them stand out among the crowd.  As a parent it is essential that I continue to teach my children about life.   I catch them (and yes I am bias) showing these positive characteristics as they continue to mature but sometimes I wonder if anyone else sees these precious moments in their lives as well.

Throughout the school year Brina and Karlie get random “rewards” for being a good example.  One of my favorite ones to see come home in their book bags is the one that gets awarded when a student shows positive characteristics when the other students are disobeying the rules.  It is nice to know that they can be polite and respectful even when their sister (in many cases) and friends are not.  The coupon is for a Free Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meal and is awarded when a student shows on of the following Core Essentials:

• Respect
• Initiative
• Uniqueness
• Joy
• Determination
• Kindness
• Courage
• Humility
• Forgiveness

There is no such thing as a perfect parent (or a perfect person for that matter) so when I catch my girls doing right, it truly makes me proud.  Nothing I do will force them to be good, kind, or considerate, however, the words I speak (and more importantly) my actions are showing the girls what is expected.  I cannot count the number of times, even in the last week, how they can innocently ask me a question that really makes me think about my actions and in many cases the questions can be quite convicting.

For example, not long ago I was driving with the girls in the van when another car cut in front of us nearly side swiping our van which resulted in a honk from me……from the back seat I hear Brina say “Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear for the Father Up Above is Looking Down…….”  Wow, even though in my mind I was “justified” by making the car aware of our presence through the honk, but having her say those words made me really think about how I was reacting in a tense situation.  There is a great responsibility when you children daily watching your words and actions.  I know I cannot do it in my own strength which makes me even more grateful for a heavenly Father who helps guide and direct not only my steps but my kids as well.  They know I am not perfect, but thankfully they do know someone who is and He is much better example of how we should live.

Twice as Fun is a series on raising Twins and all the joy that comes with it.  We have been richly blessed to have twin daughters in our lives and want to share with you our thoughts, challenges, wisdom and love for raising multiples.  Our girls have different interests and hobbies but they both know how to add excitement to our lives and make us chuckle.