Struggling With Sibling Rivalry

"Mooooooooooooooom,                                            !"<-- Insert anything you'd like there.

I'm often woken by the sounds of my older children's screams at each other for something they've done to irritate one another. On days that start like that I usually don't get to the coffee pot until about 4 hours after I've pried my eyelids open. I used to just kind of pull my head under the covers and cry a little when they were much smaller, but time and lots of prayer have given me the strength to get up and face the ugly monster that is sibling rivalry. This doesn't mean I have a magic pill that makes them stop, but if you do, can I have some?

The really hard thing about the fighting and constant competition is that I know it's always going to be there when they live together. I know that it's normal to argue when your best friend is also your brother or sister because you spend every moment together. I know that they are 6 and 8 and are still learning skills to cope with certain feelings. I know there is no magic pill. I know that some days the only way I'm going to make it is by asking God for an extra dose of grace. Moms, I know that whether you have 2 children or 10 children, it's hard.

For me, the days that my children are at each other non-stop are probably the hardest.  In the pictures above you can see Gavin biting Kaileb's leg and Haylie trying to kiss Kaileb on the cheek while he moves over. These were taken while we were in Savannah which was a great day, but there were still moments that were ugly.

This morning, Kaileb came down and made scrambled eggs and brought them to Haylie in bed, an act of love. It was a good reminder that as a family, as humans, as sinners, sometimes we get it wrong. Actually, we get it wrong a lot of the time. There are times though that we get it right and all of those moments when I just want to say "Why can't you just get along?" are forgotten and forgiven. They are replaced with the beautiful moments of acts of kindness and love.