My daughter sparkled again!

For the past year and a half I have tried to find a way to communicate with my now 7 year old daughter about how to deal with other girls. ( I don't remember this much drama when I was in Kindergarten and 1st Grade). Now mind you that I know she is not perfect and has troubles at times because of something she has said or done. We have tried the just ignore them, maybe they are having a tough time too, try and be frinds with them, keep smiling, report it, pray for them, you can only control you actions and reactions make sure you are making good choices and so forth... Never the less she continues to run to me to help solve her problems. So, today I tried something that was I got from a book study I am leading. I told her, " I am sorry that happened." I then empowered her by giving her the words to express her feelings and a strategy to begin figuring out what was going on and off she went. I have come to the conclusion that she needs to be able to help herself appropriately and that she needs to have the confidence to do it. She walked herself through the steps and she came back to tell me she figured it out! MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT! My soft hearted, independant, head strong little girl had begun a process, that if we can keep going, will take her a long way!

Shining and Sparkling is something that I don't often see Libby do. This weekend was one of those amazing moments.... lots of smiles and experiences.... it is amazing how some of the littlest things can have a BIG impact! Not only did she begin to know how to problem solve, she had the chance to down hill ski again.  She started last weekend and loved it. Steven took her again yesterday and she bloomed. She hops off the chair lift and heads straight down the hill stopping at the bottom before hitting the buildings or people (unlike her mom). She even took full advantage of lack of parental supevision ( Steven was on the slope with Ben) to finish her hot cocoa, put her boots back on, hike it over to the hill, slip into her skiis and hit the bunny slope in hopes of learning how to jump!

Finally, the joy of singing and love of being in the public eye graced her this afternoon. At a local concert at our church the kids were invited up to sing and dance. Libby was handed the mic and she glowed. She sang in rhythm and tune and had all eyes on her. I am so proud of her and am glad that she had her moments! The only down side is that as of tonight, she has a new ambition to record her own album. She says it may not be now, it may be a long ways down the road, but that she intends on practicing and then God will let her know when it is time.

In the words of someone wise... don't squalsh the spirit of a child. Use it, protect it and enjoy it as if it were your own.