Ok so........ everyone wants their kids to be brilliant and perfect and wonderful. Truthfully though, everyone wants success and what is best for their children. I have been struggling with this as I have 2 beautiful girls in elementary school this year. I have truly seen how different they are in the way they handle homework and different concepts in school. One of them faces it head on and chooses to practice until she is more comfy with the task at hand. While the other chooses to hide under her bed... literally! Last week as we worked on her extremely long memory verse- I looked up to find that I was crying, she was crying, and I had ruined her "at home" time by pushing her so hard.
I have really taken this all to heart over the past few days. I have decided to look at things from a different standpoint. I am going to keep working with her- but I will not push until I have stolen the joy from her carefree little spirit that day. She is beautiful, smart, the most generous child ever, she is funny, and she has a way of relating to anyone or anything from caterpillar to older adults. I could never ask God to bless her with any qualities more wonderful than those! So Good Luck little doll with the memory verses and other pressures-- I will HELP and GUIDE but, you will not be bullied any longer by your #1 fan- Mom!
Drew's Daily Dialogue
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Something to stop and think about-
What if we woke up tomorrow with only what we thanked God for today.
That kind of puts me in my place-
That kind of puts me in my place-
Friday, June 22, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Rules for Mothers with Daughters
I was reading a really great blog this morning. I came across 25 rules for mothers with daughters. If you have a daughter this is a must read- must print- must read daily! I hope that I can accomplish at least a few of these for my little ladies!
25 Rules for Mothers with Daughters
1. Paint her nails. Then let her scratch it off and dirty them up. Teach her to care
about her appearance, and then quickly remind her that living and having
fun is most important.
2. Let her put on your makeup, even if it means bright-red-smudged lips and streaked-blue
eyes. Let her experiment in her attempts to be like you…then let her be herself.
3. Let her be wild. She may want to stay home and read books on the couch, or she
may want to hop on the back of a motorcycle-gasp. She may be a homebody
or a traveler. She may fall in love with the wrong boy, or meet mr. right at
age 5. Try
to remember that you were her age once. Everyone makes mistakes, let her make
her own.
4. Be present. Be there for her at her Kindergarten performances, her dance
recitals, her soccer games…her everyday-little-moments. When
she looks through the crowds of people, she will be looking for your smile and
pride. Show it to her as often as possible.
5. Encourage
her to try on your shoes and play dress-up. If she
would rather wear her brother’s
superman cape with high heals, allow it. If she wants to wear a tutu or
dinosaur costume to the grocery store, why stop her? She needs to decide who
she is and be confident in her decision.
6. Teach her to be independent. Show her by example that woman can be strong. Find and follow
your own passions. Search for outlets of expression and enjoyment for yourself-
not just your husband or children. Define yourself by your own
attributes, not by what others expect you to be. Know who you are as a person,
and help your daughter find out who she is.
7. Pick flowers with her. Put
them in her hair. There is nothing more beautiful than a girl and a flower.
8. Let her get messy. Get messy with her, no matter how much it makes you cringe
inside. Splash in the puddles, throw snowballs, make mud pies, finger paint the
walls: just let it happen. The most wonderful of memories are often the messy
ones.
9. Give her good role models- you being one of them. Introduce her
to successful woman- friends, co-workers, doctors, astronauts, or authors.
Read to her about influential woman- Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks,
Marie Curie. Read her the words of inspirational woman- Jane Austen,
Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson. She should know that anything is possible.
10. Show her affection. Daughters will mimic the compassion of their mother. “I love yous” and Eskimo kisses go a long way.
11. Hold her hand. Whether she is 3 years-old in the parking lot or sixteen years
old in the mall, hold on to her always- this will teach her to be confident in
herself and proud of her family.
12. Believe in her. It is the moments that she does not believe in herself that she
will need you to believe enough for both of you. Whether it is a spelling test
in the first grade, a big game or recital, a first date, or the first day of
college…remind her of the independent and
capable woman you have taught her to be.
13. Tell her how beautiful she is. Whether it is her first day of Kindergarten, immediately after a
soccer game where she is grass-stained and sweaty, or her wedding day. She
needs your reminders. She needs your pride. She needs your reassurance. She is
only human.
14. Love her father. Teach her to love a good man, like him. One who lets her be
herself…she is after all wonderful.
15. Make forts with boxes and
blankets. Help her to find magic in the
ordinary, to imagine, to create and to believe in fairy tales. Someday she will
make her 5 by 5 dorm-room her home with magic touches and inspiration. And she
will fall in love with a boy and believe him to be Prince Charming.
16. Read to her. Read her Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. But also remember the power
of Sylvia Plath and Robert Frost. Show her the beauty of words on a page and
let her see you enjoy them. Words can be simply written and simply
spoken, yet can harvest so much meaning. Help her to find their
meaning.
17. Teach her how to love- with passion and kisses. Love her passionately. Love her father passionately and her siblings
passionately. Express your love. Show her how to love with no
restraint. Let her get her heart broken and try again. Let her cry, and gush,
giggle and scream. She will love like you love or hate like you hate. So,
choose love for both you and her.
18. Encourage her to dance and
sing. Dance and sing with her- even if it
sounds or looks horrible. Let her wiggle to nursery rhymes. Let her dance
on her daddy's feet and spin in your arms. Then later, let her blast noise
and headbang in her bedroom with her door shut if she wants. Or karaoke to Tom
Petty in the living room if she would rather. Introduce her to the classics-
like The Beatles- and listen to her latest favorite- like Taylor Swift. Share
the magic of music together, it will bring you closer- or at least create a
soundtrack to your life together.
19. Share secrets together. Communicate. Talk. Talk about anything. Let her tell you about
boys, friends, school. Listen. Ask questions. Share dreams, hopes, concerns.
She is not only your daughter, you are not only her mother. Be her friend too.
20. Teach her manners. Because sometimes you have to be her mother, not just her
friend. The world is a happier place when made up of polite words and smiles.
21. Teach her when to
stand-up and when to walk away. Whether
she has classmates who tease her because of her glasses, or a boyfriend who
tells her she is too fat- let her know she does not have to listen. Make sure she knows how to demand
respect- she is worthy of it. It does not mean she has to fight back with
fists or words, because sometimes you say more with silence. Also make sure she
knows which battles are worth fighting. Remind her that some
people can be mean and nasty because of jealousy, or other personal
reasons. Help her to understand when to shut her mouth and walk-away. Teach her
to be the bigger -the better- person.
22. Let her choose who she loves. Even when you see through the charming boy she thinks he is, let
her love him without your disapproving words: she will anyway. When he breaks
her heart, be there for her with words of support rather than I
told-you-so. Let her mess up again and again until she finds the one. And when
she finds the one, tell her.
23. Mother her. Being a mother—to her—is undoubtedly one of your greatest accomplishments. Share with
her the joys of motherhood, so one day she will want to be a mother
too. Remind her over and over again with words and kisses that no one will
ever love her like you love her. No one can replace or replicate a mother’s love for their children.
24. Comfort her. Because sometimes you just need your mommy. When she is sick,
rub her back, make her soup and cover her in blankets- no matter how old she
is. Someday, if she is giving birth to her own child, push her hair out of her
face, encourage her, and tell her how beautiful she is. These are the moments
she will remember you for. And someday when her husband rubs her back in
attempt to comfort her...she may just whisper, "I need my mommy."
25. Be home. When she is sick with a cold or broken heart, she will come to
you: welcome her. When she is engaged or pregnant, she will run to you to share
her news: embrace her. When she is lost or confused, she will search for
you: find her. When she needs advice on boys, schools, friends or an
outfit: tell her. She is your daughter and will always need a safe harbor-
where she can turn a key to see comforting eyes and a familiar smile: be
home.
For my 4 precious daughters- I
promise to always "be home" for you.
I found the list at:
http://diapersdaisies.blogspot.com/2012/01/rules-for-mothers-of-daughters.html
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
From where I am sitting....
Every night when our family sits down at the table to eat- I sit and embrace how blessed I am! I am surrounded by these beautiful little girls and they are each so sweet and individual. During the month of February we are going to go around the table telling the person beside us something that we love about them. This will hopefully help the girls learn to love each others differences! I think we all should make an effort to do this. Take 1/2 of a minute in the busy day- to randomly be nice to someone. Tell someone something they may not hear very often- a compliment, a thank you, a pep talk- who knows you may make someones day! This is not only a really good way to show God's love, it is also a really good way for us to feel God's love! Yes you might think this is kind of cheesy- but once you give it a try-- you just can't help feeling good!
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