An excerpt from Ella's prayer yesterday...
"Please help us not to be sneaky so that we don't make Jesus worried..."
Explanation:
Scene: The Grocery Store. A distracted mom and a relatively hidden 3-year-old in a car grocery cart do their shopping. One person pays for their items, while the other hordes her hidden items in the car cart...any guesses!! That's right. My Ella decided to snatch a lovely pair of kid's sunglasses from a display and kept them hidden from me during our shopping adventure. Fast forward to the moment I caught her with said item in the parking lot.
Mommy: Ella, what is this?
Ella: Those are sunglasses.
Mommy: Whose are they?
Ella: They are mine, Mommy.
Mommy: Where did you get them?
Ella: From the store.
Mommy: Did you pay for them?
Ella: No. I was sneaky.
Mommy: Ella, we don't take things that we haven't paid for. That is called stealing and it is not right. You knew you were doing something wrong because you tried to hide it from me. When you get a bad feeling like that, you need to ask yourself what Jesus would do. Do you think Jesus would want you to steal?
Ella: No, Mommy.
Mommy: Well, what do you think we should do to make this better?
Ella: I should pay for the sunglasses so that Jesus won't be sad.
Mommy: Do you have any money?
Ella: No.
Mommy: Well, then we will have to take the sunglasses back.
End Scene.
Sigh. My mom claims that the sneakiness is a genetically passed on trait.
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14 comments:
Ahh...the joys of parenting. I remember taking a hair clip from the store when I was 3 or 4, very vividly. I of course didn't really know it was wrong at the time, but I remember how guilty I felt about doing it, even though I never was caught. You have to smile when she says a prayer like that because she really understands and learned that it was wrong.
Hahahaha :) Oh my goodness, this had me laughing so hard. Oh how I love your little Ella and I love how you tell the story. I love that she said she was being sneaky, that girl cracks me up.
She may have learned that from your many Target trips where you ended up with stuff hidden in your stroller when she was a baby. She just missed the part where you always took it back!!! She is a cutie.
Oh Ella, I feel your pain.
Don't you love how little ones try to be sneaky? I'm glad she ended up making the right decision. What a smart girl!
i feel like stealing something when you are a child could be like a right of passage. who hasn't done it? the story made me laugh, and i love the prayer excerpt. also, i just finished a class this summer dedicated to using correct grammar in business writing. i don't want to be a grammar brat (especially if i'm wrong because then i wil look foolish) but i believe that using the word "said" in the context you used it in is considered substandard...at least nowadays. i don't doubt that there is a possibility i could be wrong and that you know some crazy exception, but i didn't want to miss the opportunity to correct "Lauren: The Consummate English Major.":)
Wow, I guess she is gettting to be a little sneaky, isn't she? :-) You're such a great story teller--Kaytlin did something similar at her age and was in tears having to give the candy back to the store manager--she never did it again though! Good luck with that little sneaky one!!!
I can understand Ella's theft. What cute girl can resist a pair of flashy sunglasses? But I guess you're right - that doesn't justify stealing.
That is so funny. I love the innocence of a child.
At least she understood what she did was wrong...such a cute story, thanks for sharing!
That is so funny, what a great learning experience for Ella though. I'm just waiting for one of my girls to do something like that, we've had some close calls.
Great story and you handled it so well, too. I've never heard that about sneakiness being genetic (bet you loved hearing that). Things like this can be so humbling as a Mom. I've missed seeing you! We'll have to get together soon. I'm still getting things pulled together after all the traveling.
That is funny. It must be an age thing because Landon just did that same sneaky act this weekend. These kids are too funny!
You're great and did the perfect thing, this is incredibly hilarious!! You have your hands full girl!
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