How to get perspective

I love my girls. How can you not after witnessing all their cuteness in recent blog posts?

But because their mommy is a sinner, I sometimes lose perspective and, instead of enjoying them for who they are, I become annoyed at the quirks that mark this stage of life (like playing Peter Pan to the point that I'm unsure that my 4 month old will be able to recognize that her name is Caroline and not Michael or Tinkerbell).

I hope I'm not the only mother out there who struggles with this (otherwise I probably sound like a great big jerk...which I actually am which is why I believe in Jesus). Anyhow, in the chance that there may be other moms out there who can relate to my struggle, I'd like to share a strategy I recently adopted for helping me number my days and put my children's fleeting childhoods into perspective. (Note: this may only work for mothers of girls.) Here it is. Just at the moment you're about to pull your hair out, stop whatever you're doing, connect your iPod to the biggest speakers you have in your house, hold your crying 4 month old in your arms and grab the hands of your whiny 3 year old, and dance your heart out to Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman. I doubt you'll be able to make it through 45 seconds of the song without bawling like a baby and repenting of every harsh word you've spoken and bad thought you've thought towards your children. Try it, and let me know if it works on your bad attitude like it worked on mine.