honest

I am an avid blog lover. I follow blogs of all types, from families who have sick children, families who have witnessed miracles, ladies who are into cooking, or saving money, and people I know in person. Many of the blogs I read, I have never met the writer in person, yet I feel so close to their family...because they are so honest. That is something I want to strive more towards with my blog. I'm always honest in what I write, but I tend to focus only on things that are going well, and never talk about the things that I struggle with. So in an effort to relieve my own crazy thoughts, I am going to try being more honest in all aspects of my family.

On a heavier note, we have been struggling with Dalton and stealing lately. A year or so ago we also had troubles with this. He has taken 4 small Lego kits from the school, which we returned with Dalton. Whenever he has to return something, his head hangs low and he seems to show remorse, or else his reaction is typical for getting into trouble. The other day, while he was with his biological mother, he was trying to steal silly putty from the grocery store. She talked to him. When he came home that night, Joseph brought up a handful of matchbox cars that Dalton had stolen from the house they were at. Mike called his mom and told her and that's when we found out what he had done at the grocery store. When asked why he was stealing this stuff, he replied that he has no fun toys to play with.

Other than returning the things he steals, talking to him, and giving some type of consequence, I really don't know what to do with this type of situation. It seems he takes things under impulse before fully thinking about what a smart decision is. In our house, with help from previous counselors and the school, we try to focus on "smart choices" as a common phrase when talking to our children. It causes them to focus and think a bit about what they've done or something they might consider doing. They ask themselves if it is a smart choice. Usually this works, but not always.

For now, until we figure out the answer to this problem, if there is an answer, we're just living moment to moment and doing the best we can. However, I wish there was a simple solution to this problem.