So, I tried continuing the conversation with Ariel some more today and asked her what some other reasons that Heavenly Father gave us talents and she said so that we can develop them and be instruments in His hands to bless other people. She was a little unsure and confident at the same time as she put that all together, but it made me think,"Wow, she is really making connections with what we talk about during our scripture study." My next thought, so is me pushing this conversation unnecessary because she already knows all the answers, but then I came to the conclusion that it is important for at least two reasons 1) For her to actually vocalize these thoughts and feel good about having an answer and 2) it is a positive conversation between us.
Maybe it makes up for when I am too hard on her. Like today when she wrote her letter to Santa and had me read it, my initial reaction was not positive. She wrote "Dear Santa, I want a . . . " And I told her that she shouldn't start out a letter with "I want," it's not polite and she should start by thanking him for last year's present and asking how he is or how Mrs. Claus is or ask about his reindeer. Well, that crushed her, and I regret it. I should have shown my approval first and then gotten into the lesson about being polite. She did rewrite it and at the end she wrote "but if you don't want to bring me that, its ok, I just won't have a Christmas present." Oh, so sad.
Like the title of this blog Another Year Wiser, I hope to get a little wiser with each of my parenting missteps and hope that we all survive this adventure for the better.