Parenting

Nothing takes more of my time each day than parenting so I thought I'd give you a glimpse in to my parenting...

Camilla Rose.  My beautiful blond daughter.  My beautiful blond daughter who is forever falling on her face. 

She was playing catch with a friend, went for the ball, and landed on her teeth.  Of course, she decided to do this on a Saturday of a holiday weekend.  Excellent.  Fortunately, she was in no pain, and she got her new filled-in teeth on Tuesday morning!

The major part of my parenting is teaching my kids about Jesus.  I love our church because children matter.  Last Sunday, our pastor called the children up to the front and had grown ups pray over them.

Then, he had the children pray over the grown ups.   I love the recognition that kids have a purpose in God's kingdom while they're still kids.  They don't have to wait until they are the grown ups to have value. 

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I'm nowhere near the kind of parent I once was.  (Could you hear my children scream "Thank you, God"?)  I've become more comfortable in my own skin, and that confidence is reflected in the way I handle my kids.  The early years of parenting were focused trying to do everything the right way.  Upon realizing that was ridiculous,I changed styles.  Now, my parenting is focused on making my kids know they are loved and teaching them to love others.  

Chloe got the brunt of my early-years parenting mistakes.  We've had some tough times together, but I'm grateful that we're working through those.  She's beginning to recognize that the Lord has made her in amazing, unique ways that have value.  When we started home schooling two years ago, she was confident that she'd never be smart enough to go to college.  Now, she realizes that she is more than capable.

Home schooling has allowed us show Chloe what her true areas of giftedness are: organization, compassion, toughness.  She has a capacity to love the "unlovable" that I've never seen in a person her age.  She loves going to the orphanage to talk to the middle schoolers who live there.  She works in a tutoring program in a tough area of Panama City.  She'll go anywhere where she can love on people.

She and I began discussing the possibility of her going into social work.  Between her natural areas of giftedness and her Spanish, I really felt social work could be an area where she could thrive.  I met with my friend, Misty, who takes Chloe to the orphanage.  She agreed that social work would be a good fit for Chloe- especially on the mission field where Chloe feels led.

When I was in Los Angeles, we went to USC's campus bookstore because I wanted to get Tony something.  When I walked into the store, I found the perfect gift for Chloe.  The perfect gift for fostering her growing confidence in herself (both in the now and the later)

I got home at 9pm, and I immediately gave the kids their presents.  Chloe got teary when she saw it.  She had it on by 9 the next morning.  The shirt doesn't mean she has to go to USC or major in Social Work.  It means that she has a Mom that believes she can do it.

And that, my friends, is a parenting victory!