my girl

chloe came home saturday after an extra week at the beach. we were so glad to see her. she seemed twice as tan and twice as tall. funny what 7 days can do.

five minutes after she walked into the house, she informed me that her front tooth was "really wiggly." one little jiggle and i said, "oh, i can get that out." a few seconds later, and it was in my hand.

here's the new look...

sometimes a week away from mom and dad can result in some, shall we say, "heart issues." maybe it's just that, at this age, every moment counts when it comes to parenting. i don't know. but i've had to talk to her more than i'd like to about attitudes and kindness and words and all that fun stuff. this morning she woke up in a particularly foul mood, so i sent her back to her bed so i could contemplate the best course of action.

i decided we'd have a talk.

i pointed out that when she was little, when she "sinned" it was always against me or Daddy. that's why we would punish her. but, now as she gets older and is more aware of "life," she's not just disobedient to her parents. instead, she's also disobeying God. i think this was something of a revelation to her and it led to a lengthy discussion about Jesus and sin and forgiveness - and what it means to really have Jesus in your heart.

a miracle cure? not really. but i believe she is one step closer in working out her salvation. and sometimes those steps are pretty miraculous.

a few other pics of my girl...