Cooking with Maggie

Today I had a date with a special girl.  

She loves helping in the kitchen so I decided to have a baking date and to let her do everything by herself.  We made homemade brownies from Martha's Baking Handbook.  Maggie did an excellent job at each step.  Here are some highlights:

Buttering the pan

Melting the butter and chocolate.

Measuring the flour.

Into the oven they go.  I did this part.

Reaping the benefits of a job well done:

 "We could do this all day," she said at one point.  I smiled thinking about each day being this sweet, this peaceful.  It was precious time with her but I couldn't help think about how parenting this little lady day to day is not as easy as pie brownies.  Today I had patience as I walked her through each step; grace as I expected some sugar or flour to be aimlessly tossed from the bowl.  Dusty took the other two girls to Home Depot during our date and so the house was calm and all my attention was focused on this one person.  I long for every day to be like this but in reality it's busy, loud, overwhelming at times and I tend to react with impatience, frustration, and anger.  

Right now we are in the throws of teaching Maggie the difference between truth and lies and it's hard.  The other day she told me straight faced that the penmanship on her Sunday school art project was from her own hand.  I know that she cannot write her name yet and she knows that she cannot write her name (especially that clearly) but she would not change her stance on the subject.

Finally she confessed, accepted her consequences, and repented.  Less than five minutes later we were having another discussion about lying after another incident.  Oh, Maggie, I can't understand your thought processes right now but I am praying for wisdom and grace to walk through this with you.  I pray that you will be a girl full of integrity, wise and truthful, trusting not in yourself but in the Sovereign King who knows you and loves you.

It is a joy to spend time with you.  Thank you for extending patience to me as I walk each step in parenting, grace to me when my words are aimlessly tossed about.  I am striving daily to trust the Sovereign King also.  I will forever love you and seek to spend time getting to know you, precious girl.  You are thoughtful, forgiving, generous, persistant, and a wonderful cook.  I love you.

I thought of this picture the whole time as I watched her work.

January 26, 2010
Helping mom and sister in the kitchen.
5 months old