My daughter's middle name is Joy. A joy is truly what she is to me, especially lately!!! She is 11 and she is fabulous! Right now we are both reading books in the Twilight series and we are both counting down the days until the movie comes out on Friday.
I debated and thought about whether to let her read the book series. But after reading all but the last book, I decided to let her go ahead.
We were in Barnes and Nobles (our favorite place on earth, besides the beach) and we were talking about all her friends that were reading the 1st book in the series, Twilight. She had asked me to read the book a couple months ago but I had told her that I thought that she should wait until she was a bit older. She sighed and asked once more but I stood my ground.
Michayla, being the lady that she is, accepted my decision with grace and an attempt to find another book that could hold her attention. I am so grateful that she loves to read!
Back to Barnes and Noble. We were there talking about Twilight, and what she had heard. She had a friend of hers ask her if she was reading it and she told this girl that no she hadn't but she really wanted to, but her mom had told her that she needed to wait until she was a little older. She said this without a pout, without manipulation, and without even a hint of anger towards me. She trusted me to make a decision about something she really wanted to do and didn't argue with me. As we stood there in the isle between the children section and the pre-teen section, I looked down at her and asked, "Michayla, you really want to read Twilight don't you."
She replied with a shrug of the shoulders and a quick glance down towards her feet.
"I know you want me to wait to read it. That's okay!" She said.
Right there my heart melted. I was thinking about letting her read it, but I wanted to make sure the books were okay.
I asked her again, "Do you want to read Twilight?".
She looked up at me with those big hazel eyes and said, "Yeah mom, I really really do."
"Grab the book and I will read it with you." I could not resist how sweet she was about the whole thing!
This is my Michayla Joy! She is a girl that has challenged me (what an understatement!) in a way that I never thought that "my child" would challenge me with. We have had our share of pre-adolescence problems (with even a trip down to the Police Station for some scared straight tactics), but right now I am enjoying her immensely!
We cook together almost every night. She loves helping me look up recipes, gathering up all our ingredients, and chopping, seasoning and marinating. We watch the Food Network together just for fun and inspiration. She is now starting to come up with her own ideas for recipes, some pretty good ones really!
We discuss politics and how some people handle (or don't handle) themselves well during political discussions.
We talk about respecting others opinions and their views without compromising your own convictions.
We talk about how to be tactful and gracious.
We talk about issues that concern her and how they impact the world as she sees it. We talk about what her role can be now and later to help others less fortunate.
No matter who you voted for in this presidential election, I love the fact that through watching the debates she picked up (all by herself) the fact that Obama stressed community service, and that she might be able to get a "discount for college" (Michayla's paraphrasing) if she served her community. She was so excited about that and informed me right then that she would be voting for Obama because of that reason alone! :-) If only she could vote! :-)
We have had a foster baby for the last 6 months who has taken a lot attention off of her, which being an only child I would have thought she might have gotten jealous. Not once has she complained..NOT ONCE!!! She has learned a lot about other people and drugs and bad decisions leading you down a road that you never thought you would end up on. She has learned that drug addicts are not second rate citizens that you look down on. I pray that it will forever be impressed on her that it was only one bad decision for some, that lead them down a path of utter despair. These people need her and her compassion! She is already looking for ways to make a difference.
We talk about God and the Bible. We talk about other religions and what different people believe. I share with her what I have seen God do and I tell her stories about hope, love and peace.
We are using the same facial scrub, deodorant, hairspray, flat iron and hair accessories.
We talk about traveling to different countries and cities. We have so many travel plans. She is so adventurous!
Okay, so right now she just asked me if tomorrow, we could have steak for dinner, and potatoes. She is always thinking ahead, in terms of food! LOL! Then she asks, " Mom, why are potatoes soooo good with steak?"
Oh Michayla, I don't know. They just are!
I adore you, mama!!!!
I debated and thought about whether to let her read the book series. But after reading all but the last book, I decided to let her go ahead.
We were in Barnes and Nobles (our favorite place on earth, besides the beach) and we were talking about all her friends that were reading the 1st book in the series, Twilight. She had asked me to read the book a couple months ago but I had told her that I thought that she should wait until she was a bit older. She sighed and asked once more but I stood my ground.
Michayla, being the lady that she is, accepted my decision with grace and an attempt to find another book that could hold her attention. I am so grateful that she loves to read!
Back to Barnes and Noble. We were there talking about Twilight, and what she had heard. She had a friend of hers ask her if she was reading it and she told this girl that no she hadn't but she really wanted to, but her mom had told her that she needed to wait until she was a little older. She said this without a pout, without manipulation, and without even a hint of anger towards me. She trusted me to make a decision about something she really wanted to do and didn't argue with me. As we stood there in the isle between the children section and the pre-teen section, I looked down at her and asked, "Michayla, you really want to read Twilight don't you."
She replied with a shrug of the shoulders and a quick glance down towards her feet.
"I know you want me to wait to read it. That's okay!" She said.
Right there my heart melted. I was thinking about letting her read it, but I wanted to make sure the books were okay.
I asked her again, "Do you want to read Twilight?".
She looked up at me with those big hazel eyes and said, "Yeah mom, I really really do."
"Grab the book and I will read it with you." I could not resist how sweet she was about the whole thing!
This is my Michayla Joy! She is a girl that has challenged me (what an understatement!) in a way that I never thought that "my child" would challenge me with. We have had our share of pre-adolescence problems (with even a trip down to the Police Station for some scared straight tactics), but right now I am enjoying her immensely!
We cook together almost every night. She loves helping me look up recipes, gathering up all our ingredients, and chopping, seasoning and marinating. We watch the Food Network together just for fun and inspiration. She is now starting to come up with her own ideas for recipes, some pretty good ones really!
We discuss politics and how some people handle (or don't handle) themselves well during political discussions.
We talk about respecting others opinions and their views without compromising your own convictions.
We talk about how to be tactful and gracious.
We talk about issues that concern her and how they impact the world as she sees it. We talk about what her role can be now and later to help others less fortunate.
No matter who you voted for in this presidential election, I love the fact that through watching the debates she picked up (all by herself) the fact that Obama stressed community service, and that she might be able to get a "discount for college" (Michayla's paraphrasing) if she served her community. She was so excited about that and informed me right then that she would be voting for Obama because of that reason alone! :-) If only she could vote! :-)
We have had a foster baby for the last 6 months who has taken a lot attention off of her, which being an only child I would have thought she might have gotten jealous. Not once has she complained..NOT ONCE!!! She has learned a lot about other people and drugs and bad decisions leading you down a road that you never thought you would end up on. She has learned that drug addicts are not second rate citizens that you look down on. I pray that it will forever be impressed on her that it was only one bad decision for some, that lead them down a path of utter despair. These people need her and her compassion! She is already looking for ways to make a difference.
We talk about God and the Bible. We talk about other religions and what different people believe. I share with her what I have seen God do and I tell her stories about hope, love and peace.
We are using the same facial scrub, deodorant, hairspray, flat iron and hair accessories.
We talk about traveling to different countries and cities. We have so many travel plans. She is so adventurous!
Okay, so right now she just asked me if tomorrow, we could have steak for dinner, and potatoes. She is always thinking ahead, in terms of food! LOL! Then she asks, " Mom, why are potatoes soooo good with steak?"
Oh Michayla, I don't know. They just are!
I adore you, mama!!!!
