Against Drew's wishes (just slightly) I asked our neighbor girl, Kaeli, to come over and cut Bentley's bangs. (Drew didn't want to cut her hair at all, but I convinced him it was just her bangs and I didn't want to put clips in it forever, especially since she prefers to take them out.) Anyway, Kaeli had just started her own business having recently graduated from the Salon Academy earlier this year. Bentley held so still! I put the mirror in front of her so she could see what Kaeli was up to. An after photo will come later. :)
While I was making Bentley a sandwich, I asked her to bring me her plate from the table so I could add a few strips of sandwich to her apple slices. As she steps down, the apple slices slide off the plate. I come to her aid and put them back on saying it is okay. This does not seem to suffice as Bentley says "Tomout" and then "Obay". I try to explain to her that it was an accident and that she didn't mean to and doesn't need a timeout for not obeying mommy.
As I am typing this I am reminded from my reading in Letiviticus lately (I am attempting to read the bible in a year) that people had to atone for their sins through sacrifice for not only intentional, but unintentional sin.
"When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the Lord his God, he is guilty. When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect." "If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands, he is guilty. When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering a female goat without defect." Lev. 4:22-23, 27-28
Praise God that He sent a perfect offering - without defect - to die even for the sins we have committed and have yet to commit that we aren't even aware of so that we might have a relationship with our Father God.
Bentley and I had a little coffee date today that involved splitting a soy steamer with sugar-free vanilla flavoring and a bagel. We got ourselves situated in chairs across from one another. With cup in one hand and bagel in the other, Bentley looks up at me and so sweetly says without prompting, "Chay choo, momma." My heart truly melts and I take in the moment.
I'd like to say this was a conversation, but alas, no, I simply was on the audience end of a full-blown Bentley Brooke monologue. I took a break from getting our home ready to host our weekly missional community meeting and set up the camera on the edge of our kitchen counter and hit, record. And then just watched. And tried not to giggle to overpower the precious dialogue in front of me.
At a few points, the video gets blurry (keep listening, the actress goes on!).
See if you can find these several gems that occur throughout: 1 - Counting to ten 2 - The monologue continues despite falling 3 - the whisper monologue in front of the mirror 4 - The two times she goes "Nigh-Night" and pretends to snore. 5 - Her little scream when the purse won't fit fully up her arm 6 - Just before she climbs up on the chair to look out the window, she signs bird and says "birdie" in the midst of her monologue, I believe to inform me she is going to see the birds out the window. 7 - Her many animated moments with her hands that turn into adamant pointing. 8 - When she grabs her 'purse' and walks towards the door, she says "Bye, See You, Bye". This salutation is from Drew. 9 - Her 'pose' against the couch 10 - Near the end, I tell her "I love you" and she responds with "lah loo" 11 - There may be several more - enjoy this theatrical piece.
p.s. double-click the video to watch it in You Tube - it shows the whole screen.
Bentley often requests to read her "bah-boo" (bible). While Bentley is affectionate, she is not the cuddler. However, reading time is now a rarity, where she actually moves the pillow on the couch, hops up, lays down and points to the other side of the pillow and says, "Momma". I savor this time, especially when her soft little fingers rest on my wrist while I turn the pages of her book. (Look closely and you can see this.)
If you are looking for an early children's bible, I highly recommend this particular bible. All the old testament stories point to Christ and it is beautifully illustrated.
