I Trust You'll Treat Her Well

Author: Victor Buono

Dear World:I bequeath to you today one little girl...in a crispy dress...with two brown eyes...and a happy laugh that ripples all day long.. and a flash of light brown hair that bounces in the sun when she runs.I trust you'll treat her well.

She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning...and skipping off down the street to her first day of school. And never again will she be completely mine.Prim and proud she'll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say "Goodbye" and walk with little lady steps to the schoolhouse.

Now she'll learn to stand in lines...and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called. She'll learn to tune her ears for the sounds of school-bells...and deadlines...and she'll learn to giggle...and gossip...and look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy 'cross the aisle sticks out his tongue at her. And now she'll learn to be jealous. And now she'll learn how it is to feel hurt inside. And now she'll learn how not to cry.

No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch on a summer day and watch an ant scurry across the crack in the sidewalk. Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn and kiss lilac blooms in the morning dew. No, now she'll worry about those important things...like grades and which dress to wear and whose best friends is whose. And the magic of books and learning will replace the magic of her blocks and dolls. And now she'll find new heroes.

For five full years now I've been her sage and Santa Claus and pal and playmate and mother and friend. Now she'll learn to share her worship with her teachers ...which is only right. But no longer will I be the smartest woman in the whole world. Today when that school bell rings for the first time...she'll learn what it means to be a member of the group...with all its privileges and its disadvantages too.

She'll learn in time that proper young ladies do not laugh out loud...or kiss dogs...or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms...or even watch ants scurry across cracks in sidewalks in the summer.Today she'll learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. And I'll stand on the front porch and watch her start out on the long, lonely journey to becoming a woman.So, world, I bequeath to you today one little girl...in a crispy dress...with two brown eyes...and a flash of light brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.
I trust you'll treat her well.

This has been a hard week for Momma. Dropping Aimee off today was the hardest day so far. The children area adjusting to their schedules. In the mornings they sit criss cross applesauce in the hallway and are actually quiet. I gave Aimee a hug and she was a little more clingy that she has been all the days so far. She knows that she has to stay but for just a few more minutes, instead of being that big girl, she wants to be my baby. I kiss that sweet little cheek, tell her to have a great day and then slip out. My tears slip out too. It's hard to let her go to school. Even though it's like daycare, it's different.

I am ready for the weekend.....

Our revival tonight

Well, first of all let me say that today at school was a much better day. We still covet your prayers but her teacher said that we are making an effort. Whoo-hoo for Aimee!

This is a picture of her with her new hair cut. The umbrella was a present from her great grandmother from Canada and the big flower in her hair was given to her by her after school teacher (who gave all the girls a flower for their hair). Of course, I could not convince her to take it out of her hair for a picture so we are "picking our battles" hence, the flower stayed in her hair.

The second picture is a picture of our revival that we had tonight. We had over 200 teenagers there and it was amazing. Several of our students made commitments or recommitments and it was neat to see God move so strongly in the lives of students all over our community tonight. Have I mentioned how much I love our church? I just love our students!! They are so great and God has blessed us so much here. There isn't a lot of food places or a real mall, but we do have real students that want to follow God's will.

Have a great night!

Strong Willed Children

Once again, I have been reminded very quickly that our child is a SWC (which is short for Strong Willed Child). I have always said that Aimee is "high maintenance" and you know, she is. Little things become battles, obedience is asked for over and over and then is given with a bad attitude.

Last night was a hard night emotionally for me and I am being very honest here. I thought that maybe I didn't deserve Aimee and that is why it took us so long to get pregnant. I thought that maybe I am a bad mother. I had lots of thoughts like that last night.

Today I read this on another blog:

There is nothing wrong with a SW child. Strong Willed is a personality trait, that’s all. A SW child is not abnormal. The parent's job is to train that child and help him in controlling his will. If you have a strong willed child, it’s because God knew that you could handle it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 is clear. You’re not given more than you can handle.

God says that He will not give me more than I can handle. Now, sometimes I think God trusts me more than I trust myself because sometimes parenting seems to be an uphill battle. I do know that God loves this little girl more that I could love her and I love her to the depths of my soul.

So, we are going to get through this. Here is how you can help if you are reading our blog (and this assusmes that you are family or friends):

1. Pray for us first and foremost. Pray that we will lead our daughter by example and that we will be in tune with her needs. Pray that God will give us the STRENGTH to parent her as He parents us.

2. Pray for Aimee and that she will obey because she loves Jesus and her parents. Pray that she will not obey us because of a "spirit of fear" but a "spirit of love". Pray for her actions and her body.

3. Pray for her teachers at school and at church, for endurance and strength. Pray that they will be firm but not lose patience with her.

4. Please be firm with her if you are babysitting her for us. Do NOT let her "get one over on you" because in the long run, it makes it harder on her. Be firm with your expectations. Do what you tell her you are going to do even if it breaks her heart (and yours).

5. Praise her! She loves to have positive praise and craves this. A hug is a great thing for her!


This is my new prayer:

“Lord, You know my inadequacies. You know my weaknesses, not only in parenting, but in every area of my life. I’m doing the best I can to raise my child properly, but it may not be good enough. As You provided the fish and the loaves to feed the five thousand hungry people, now take my meager effort and use it to bless my family. Make up for the things I do wrong. Satisfy the needs that I have not met. Compensate for my blunders and mistakes. Wrap Your great arms around my child, and draw her close to You. And be there when she stands at the great crossroads between right and wrong. All I can give them is my best, and I will continue to do that. I submit her to You now and rededicate myself to the task You have placed before me. The outcome rests securely in Your hands.”

Second day at school.....

and we already have the letter coming from the teacher about behaviors.

So, because I don't feel good and I am sick and losing my voice, I am going to just put it all here and you guys can read it. Ms. Thing (aka our daughter) has decided that she does not want to do what her teacher wants her to do. She has been telling her teacher "no" and will not keep her hands to herself.

Yes, I know that these are bad behaviors. No, I don't know what to do about them. We did something pretty radical today and that was D and I took her books out of her room. That is going to be hard for her and she cried and cried about that. She loves to read (and so do I) but taking things away that she doesn't care about doesnt' bother her.

We have two rules to follow tomorrow:
1. always obey your teacher
2. pratice nice things with your body (ie no hitting, yelling, etc...)

Hopefully this will work. Now, I am off to compose the first "I am sorry for her behaviors" letter.

First day of school

WOW! The first day of

school is officially here! Aimee did so well when we dropped her off. She was a little nervous when she first woke up but once she got to school, she saw a friend from preschool across the hall and perked up. Her teacher promised me that she would take good care of her so that made me feel better.

I have a lot of sad feelings about her starting school. She is offically a big girl and that is hard for my momma heart. It's bittersweet to see this little baby who was so helpless the first time I held her, take her backpack and walk into the hall of school.

Something every parents does.....

I had to do something that every parent has to do when their child is around 5 or 6 years old. We had to take Aimee to meet her Kindergarten teacher last night. It was so hard for momma. Aimee's teacher has been teaching for 24 years and is a well seasoned teacher. I guess that is going to be a good thing.

We bought a shirt and I joined the PTA! Definately a K thing because I am not sure how involved PTA is but I will be involved.

I am so nervous....Aimee appears to be fine about this but I am not sure I am ready to let my baby go. I have to drop her off and leave her all day. That is scary to me. I do it now but we are the ones that is able to control what daycare she attends and if in the past, it was not a good fit, we could look for another one. Now, we can't do that.

I know it's not a big deal for a child to start school but for me, as Aimee's mom, it IS a big deal. What if she gets scared or can't open her milk? What if she doesn't make any friends? What about all those unknowns? This is one of those times where it is hard to trust God. I am going to trust in Him though because I know Heloves this little girl even more that I possibly can (although that's hard to grasp because I love that baby like none other). I am just going to rest in Him and constantly remind myself that he will take care of her.

I know though that I am going to be crying all day on Monday. I actually told them I would be in later because I want some time to grieve for my baby when I have to drop her off. I will pick her up later on that day as a big girl.

Our fun weekend...

I haven't updated because we don't have a laptop at home anymore. Darrell was paying a bill a week or so ago and the "h" key fell off. We had to ship the thing off for repair and it won't be back until Wednesday.

I was out of town on Wednesday - Friday for a conference in Hot Springs. Boy, was it HOT! (Pun intended). The conference was good on Wednesday but I had a migrane from getting car sick. My friend from work, DeAnna drove and she took good care of me. We went to Outback with her family and a coworker that night and then the mall. It's so nice to go to a mall and shop. I hit Bath and Body Works and got some stuff for the house and a tote bag. It's so nice and PINK!!!!

Thursday was a LONG day at the conference but then DeAnna and I hit Magic Springs and that was a blast. It was not crowded at all and we did the water slides and lazy river before hitting the amusement park. I actually rode the rum runner which is basically the pirate ship. It made me sick when I rode it about 8 years ago and since my carsickness has gotten worse as I age, I haven't been on it since. We did it though and it was ok, I didn't get sick. We also rode some scary rollercoaster that I can't believe I actually got on. Have I ever said how scared rollercoaster's make me? I still get on them though.

Darrell and Aimee picked me up on Friday and we ate lunch with DeAnna and Lexi (her daughter). Aimee and Lexi had fun at the aquarium and walking in the old restored bath house and then we hit the Traveler's game in Little Rock. Can I say that this was the WORSE idea ever???? It was about 104 degrees with NO breeze! We didnt' last that long.

Saturday, my goal was to stay at home all day and I made it! I didn't get out of the house other than to go to the church and get the hamburger meat to cook for the lunch on Sunday. Techinally I live on church property so I never left my house and it was GREAT! Goal Accomplished!!!!

Have a good one and I will post pictures when I get my computer back!!!