B's latest endeavor

About half way home on our 14 drive from Ohio (more about the trip in future posts), I gave the girls a lap board with Disney coloring sheets, markers and crayons. They spent several miles creating masterpieces. I was thankful to give them something to do, even though they are fantastic travelers. ( I have to brag right here that in the entire 29 1/2 hours we were traveling to and from my parents, the girls were wonderful. They didn't fight one time, they shared toys, they helped each other reach things, they invented games and laughed a lot. And hardly slept. I can't imagine a better set of traveling kids!!)

When we got home and unloaded the van, I started sorting laundry and the girls kept coloring. Brenna asked for a pair of scissors and separated some of her creations. She then told me she wanted to sell the pictures so she could buy a certain toy for Piper. She wanted to raise $12. She had three pictures and wanted to sell them for $5 each. I told her not even her mother would spend that much money on them, (Only a Grandmother would!) so she dropped the price to $2. I didn't realize she wanted to go door to door right then and sell them. I thought, like many other ideas, this would be forgotten by the next day. But Brenna asked Josh to walk around the neighborhood with her while she sold them.

Let me add here that this is very unlike Brenna. Lately, we have really been encouraging her to speak for herself in public places. We are really putting an emphasis on speaking to people who speak to her, like when sweet elderly women comment on her outfit or someone asks her how old she is. We have also been making her ask for her own refills at restaurants. This has been a struggle because she doesn't want to do it. There have been times where she didn't get a refill because she wouldn't ask.

So, as much as it was out of Josh's comfort zone, he walked around the neighborhood at dusk after being in the car for 14 hours straight while she hocked her pictures. I was equally proud and mortified that she was doing it.

She actually sold all three pictures and received $6 total. The thing that amazed me most is that after going to the "safe, friendly" neighbors first, she headed to houses of people we have never talked to before. She received one flat out rejection, (not counting the one from our good friends who came over when they heard we were home) but she didn't seem bothered by it, she just moved on.

And then yesterday, Brenna ordered her lunch all by herself with no prompting from us.

This post is really to catch family up on the changes, but also,
local friends...consider yourself warned. Brenna is coming out of her shell and has a mission! :)