Our little entrepreneur!

Yesterday we had a yard sale. Lily wanted to sell lemonade so she could raise money for "Norma" in Guatemala (btw...Norma is a picture of a poor girl she saw on a child sponsorship letter that came to our house one day). We do sponsor a little girl named Kimberly in Guatemala so we now just refer to her as "Norma".

Anyway, the first two sales of the yard sale were 2 cups of lemonade! Lily's high-pressure sales techniques won over the crowd. As everyone walked or drove by she shouted..."Lemonade". Also when people would come by to peruse our yard sale offerings Lily would ask them if they had money so they could buy lemonade.

Needless to say Lily raised about $5 worth of quarters to send to "Norma" in Guatemala!

Passion

Things have been challenging with Lily lately. Many times I find myself praying before the Lord, asking for guidance and wisdom as to how to channel her "passion". Today as I was praying, it struck me...that yes she is fiery and yes she is strong-willed, but she is also very passionate. She is passionately kind, she is passionately angry, she is passionately sad, etc. Everything emotion she experiences she experiences with intense passion. I know in life these things will serve her well, but many times they are difficult to parent. I can just look at how successful my sister is and see how her firey strong will and passion have helped her in her life.

Lord, I lift Lily up to you. I pray that you use her passion and strong will for your kingdom. Help her to learn to control and manage her emotions more appropriately. Yelling, talking back and talking sassy, stomping her feet, hitting, and rolling her eyes are not effective communication strategies. Lord help us to remain calm. I am thankful that she is with our calm family as opposed to a more volatile family. I could only imagine how volatile things could get. Lord, help me to stay calm and even-keeled when dealing with her. Many times I feel worn down by her constant attempts to do battle and sometimes I just want to react. Help me not to fan the flames of battle.

Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful child. Without her, our lives would have a huge void that would be unfillable. She brings us so much joy and laughter! I pray that you will guide us in parenting her so that she can be a strong woman of God!

Firery, but man is she cute!

Well, adjusting to big sisterhood has been good! Lily is a super big sister! She loves her baby brother a lot! She always wants to feed him and burp him (at least for 5 seconds) before she is distracted and moves on to the next thing she wants to do.

As always she has been super fiery. I feel like I am always battling with her. I definitely do not like that. She is so strong-willed and if she does not get her way she gets angry. She frequently stomps her feet, hits, talks back, etc. I pray that she learns to manage her anger and frustration better as she grows up...otherwise, those teenage years are going to be very difficult!

Yesterday I asked Lily if she heard me, and she smirked at Daddy and said, "I only pretend my listening ears are broken". Little booger:)

Of course, there is a very charming side of Lily as well! She was at Abuelita's house and she was hitting the cat with a stick. Abuelita told her not to hit the cat with the stick. Lily's response was, that she was sooo sorry, "I just get so excited when I get a stick in my hand."

Then lastly there is her spiritual component..which I adore and admire. The other day we had a friend over for dinner. Our S. is of the Jewish faith. Lily turns to me at dinner and whispers in my ear.. "mommy I don't think she knows Jesus". I was just dumbfounded...how pereceptive of her. I pray she continue to keep her passion for God.