Hard for him to see...

So my Dad has been staying with us since last Thursday. Everytime he comes in town, he has to make comments that we are too strict on our kids. He claims they can't do anything without us griping at them about something. They can't eat without us saying "don't smack, don't shove your mouth so full, concentrate on your own food, don't eat with your mouth open." They can't play in the house without them saying "we don't run in the house, we don't jump on the furniture, don't hit your sister, don't do this, don't do that." We have rules for a reason, and we want them to act politely and nicely. That's being too strict? He commented that Josiah was walking all over our couch pillows (the throw ones) and Andy had to ask him "do we do that?" I said "we've had to tell them that we don't sit on the pillows or walk all over them...they're for laying your head on." They're ripping them apart with having to push their fingers into the seams, jumping on them, and so forth. Last night we found out that Tracie is digging a hole into the ceiling. My Dad said "she didn't do that, what kid does that?" I told him that if he didn't believe me, I'd show him when he was done at the doctor. Andy was nice and bought them a rug for their room...Deidra said one day that they had ripped their rug. I said "how do you rip a rug like theirs and so she brought it down for me to see. They didn't rip it, but because their hands are always busy, they had tore all the threads out all the way through the middle. Tracie got a pillow pet and didn't even have it a month and had holes all poked into it because she jabs her hands into the seams. It's just stuff like that. I told my Dad that yes, some of it is just being kids and we can let that go. But, the total lack of respect for what the rules are when it plays over into issues at school and stuff like that...I don't think that's ok to let go. I understand that accidents happen, but most kids learn from that, they don't do it again and again and again. I just find it funny that we're trying to enforce boundaries with the kids and he keeps telling me "they're all right, they're just being kids." I shut up and 2 minutes later he's yelling at them for the same thing. There's a reason why we do and say the things that we do to them. That's all I'm saying. He gets mad and I just have to look at him and smile. I keep saying that I'm not going to let him get to me and today he got to me and I've been playing things over and over. Now, I'm going to try to let it go...I put it into your Hands, Abba. Please help me to shape and mold my kids in the way that You want them to grow. And please help my Dad to see what we are trying to do with our kids.