Silly Girl

Earlier this week, we had the missionaries over to dinner. They were asking the girls what they wanted for Christmas. Lizzie was cracking me up as I listened to her Christmas wish: "I want a box that has two drawers that have locks on them and a key so that I can keep all my stuff in there that I don't want anyone to get. And I want a journal with a lock on it that has two keys that go to it so I can write all my secrets in it that I don't want anyone to see!".........How many secrets does my six-year-old have?!?! Re-reading it, she sounds a little selfish, but I don't think that is her intent. I think she just likes the idea of being able to lock it up and feel grown up. She is so funny about stuff.

Yesterday afternoon, Miriam and Lizzie were getting on my nerves. So I came out front and declared that it was reading time. I said they had to read quietly for 10 minutes and if I heard them talking, then the time would start over. I made Miriam get out the three Fancy Nancy books she checked out from the library. Then I pulled out the Magic Treehouse book that I bought Lizzie for her birthday (6 months ago). We had started reading it together in the summer, but it was still hard for her and very slow going, so it didn't hold her attention. She seemed interested when I pulled it out and tried to figure out where we had left off. They were quiet and good for 10 minutes. When the timer went off, Miriam put away her Fancy Nancy books and then got out a puzzle and worked on that. Lizzie was glued to her book!!! Hooray!!! It made me so happy; she kept reading until the babysitter arrived that evening.

On Sunday, we had one of the young women, Carmen, watch the girls in the morning before church so that Jim and I could both attend our meeting. She came with us to church and then sat with us for sacrament meeting. Lizzie sat next to her the whole time. Carmen was so sweet and let Lizzie sit on her lap. She was rubbing her back and stroking her hair and Lizzie was just eating it all up. It was very cute. I'm so appreciative of the sweet young women in our area who give service and also set good examples for my girls.

Another girl, who is almost a young woman, is in 6th grade at Lizzie's school. This week, they were selling the school paper for $0.25 a copy (BTW, what's that about?!?) and this girl gave Lizzie a quarter so that she could buy a paper. Lizzie was really excited about it and came home and read the whole thing. I was a little confused on where the quarter came from when Lizzie told me the story (sometimes things get lost in translation) but when I figured it out, I then had to explain the concept of borrowing and paying back. I watched the little wheels turn in her head for a minute as she thought that concept through. Then she decided that it was a good idea.

Another opportunity to learn about money came up last week when Lizzie came home and told me about the 'holiday grams' that were going on sale. She had already decided on four people she wanted to send them to. I had her figure out how much that would cost ($2) and then said if she would put in half, then I would put in the other half. I also suggested maybe she could buy one more and send it to her sister. She came up to me later that afternoon with the money for ALL the holiday grams. I explained to her that she was being generous and that her friends and sister would appreciate it. She can't wait to take her money to school and buy her holiday grams. She's just growing up fast!