What a Kid! Wednesday ~ Kyndal

It's been a month of What a Kid! Wednesdays, and I have really enjoyed thinking about the positive qualities of my kids and putting them out there for you all to see. I read Eli and Brynne's to them, and they just loved having their picture on my blog. It wasn't coincidental that Kyndal and Dawson's posts happened to be during weeks that they were having a rough time. Kyndal sent me an e-mail thanking me for the post about her. And Dawson just sat and smiled. He told me that my blog is like a story of our life and I should have it made into a book. I do plan to do one of those "Blog Books" you read about, at the end of this year.

These blogs may seem silly to some, but they are a legacy for our families.

Now on to What a Kid!

This week we are back to Kyndal. I am not doing these posts in any certain order, she just happened to show me some maturity this week that I wanted to mention.

Dawson has been going through a rough patch .. call it puberty or whatever, but it's there! Everybody is feeling the effects of it in their relationships with him. Two nights ago Kyndal decided that we should talk to Dawson, and we did. As a result of that talk, he made a decision that he would like to get back into his small group at our old church. To me this is very important because he is at "that time" in his life where he could go one way or another. I've prayed that he would have positive influences in his life, and that it would be his idea to choose those positive influences. Kyndal helped me show him the importance of that.

She also had a progress report that was "not so good". At the beginning of the school year we had prepared a set of rules regarding school work and consequences for breaking the rules. Because of the grades on her progress report, she lost her cell phone until the next progress report in 6 weeks. If you are a 15 year old girl then you know how devastating this is to your life! It's also additionally devastating if your boyfriend lives 5 hours away and this is how you talk to him. Yes, she was upset for a time. But, she has accepted it and even told me that she knows she will learn from this and she won't get herself in a position to lose her cell phone again! (oh, and btw, she has learned how to use a land line phone again .. how archaic!) She also is signing herself up for science tutoring after school on Tuesdays to help with her science grade. I didn't prompt her to do that. I was very proud of her for taking responsibility for her grades in this way.

Then last night I realized at 7:30 that Brynne's dress for her school pictures today was way too big. Kyndal was standing in the kitchen doing dishes (Tuesdays are her night) and giving Eli a bath (I'd been at soccer with Brynne and had asked her to do this for me). When I realized the dress was too big she said, "Go on into town and exchange it. I'll give Brynne a bath." She did all of that while I was gone so that when I got home all I had to do with put Eli and Brynne to bed. She went on to talk on the phone and Dawson and I were able to sit down and watch t.v. together. It was nice!

Lastly, she and I had a really great conversation the other night about our family and our involvement in church and what we really want to be about in our walk with God. She was so mature in that conversation and had some great ideas and insight. I was so proud to be talking with her in such a mature way.

You know, maybe this parenting thing is starting to pay off!

Kyndal ... What a (Mature) Kid!