Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Practically Grown Up...........


"I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I, I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I'm getting older too oh yes
I'm getting older too"



We hit a new mile stone this past weekend in our house. 

**** My daughter went on her first date!!"****

And I use the term "date" very loosely. It was more like we picked up her friend (we is ALL of us, the whole family, even her two little brats, um, I mean brothers), we went to a restaurant where we all sat together and ended the evening walking around Target. 

Good times. 

We did take some heat for this. Many were very opinionated about my daughter and "boyfriend". Very. 

Oh well. That's all I can say about this. Oh well. 

Emma is such a sweet girl. She is so mature beyond her years. Sometimes to the point she has been called immature. Let me explain. People have actually told me that Emma probably has not hit her teenage years yet. That she is not acting like a typical teenager. And then these people describe in detail all the crappy things their teenager does.  Maybe Emma hasn't hit that phase yet, maybe she never will. I know plenty of amazing teens who never acted like an idiot during those years.

Emma is such a huge blessing to us. She is super smart, in advanced classes. She reads like no one you'll ever meet. She helps out around the house every single day. Never complains. even when I give her crap jobs or too many jobs. She watches her brothers almost everyday with no pay. She doesn't complain. She is not picky about fashion. She is seriously happy she just has clothes to wear. She doesn't care at all where her clothes come from. Speaking of clothes, she dresses very nicely. She does not show things a 13 year old girl is supposed to show. She rarely gives me attitude. She doesn't fight with me. She is so respectful it makes me wonder how I got that lucky. She is just a good girl. The only complaint I have about my daughter is that her room is typically a mess. And that's according to my standards so I really have no idea if it really is a mess or not. Oh, and sometimes I catch her sneaking candy or cans of pop. 

On the rare occasion she does get in trouble it's never that bad and her typical punishment is us taking away her books and her Kindle. Yes, we take away her reading material. 

(side note - one time Emma was out of books to read so she started reading the Bible. She started at page 1 and kept going. When she got to the New Testament she told me she was glad because the Old Testament was boring. hahahahaha - do ya see what I mean, she is pretty much awesome)

One of the biggest factors in our decision to let her go on a "date" with him is the fact she talks to us. She comes to me all the time to talk about pretty much everything. She is very honest when I ask her questions and vice versa. She feels comfortable enough with me to talk to me about anything. 

Emma is wise beyond her years. Right now she is the opposite of a snotty teenager and I'm ok with that. I really am. 

If Emma was a known liar or a sneak or if she had bad grades or bad influences, this whole situation might have a different outcome. But given her character, we decided to go ahead with this. 

Emma makes good decisions. Emma has great friends. She gets awesome grades. She loves Jesus. So if she comes to me asking if her boyfriend can come to dinner with us, well, the answer is yes. 

One day I hope she reads this blog post to know exactly how I felt about her as a young teenager. And I am sending some serious prayers that I don't ever have to write about her being a snotty teenager in a few short years.

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