Ears Wide Open!

I don't know how many times I have said things to other people in Aubrey's presence (when I think she is so preoccupied with things)and I think she is not even listening. Well, that may have been true at one point in time but those times are now gone. My little "sponge" is absorbing everything she hears around her and every action she sees.

This became very apparent to me recently when she would say "Bam It" during times of frustration. The first time I heard it I was in denial and thought "No, she's never heard the similar phrase that starts with a "D" so there is no way she is meaning to say that". Well, the second time I heard her say it I knew we had to put a stop to it. We discussed how that is a bad word, how it hurts God and Jesus when it comes out of our mouths, so on and so forth. Well, she proceeded to use it a few more times--at home luckily. I asked her where she heard this word and she couldn't tell me. I kept trying to recall instances when she might of heard it but was at a loss. So, we came up with a new word for her to use during those frustrating times and the winner is "Stink". I haven't heard "Bam It" from her lips since so I think it is working. However, there have been two times in the past two days that we have been dining in two different public restaurants and have been within ear distance of someone talking on their cell phone using foul language so I would not doubt if she has just overheard someone saying these words and picked up on them. It saddens me to know that my children can be exposed to such language in situations where I have little control.

But, there are also those times when I hear her saying good things that she has overheard in very positive situations. Aubrey has started so say "her own prayers" as she calls them at meal time. She is doing so good at saying a prayer she has made up herself and not one that she has learned somewhere. This evening as she was asking God to help her be a good girl, thanking Him for the rain, for her friends, for her family, and for our food she add "Please nourish our bodies". This brought the biggest smile to my face and I knew exactly where she had heard that. My Dad always says "Bless this food for the nourishment of our bodies" when he is praying at meals. So, I know that Aubrey's ears are always wide open even when I think they may not be. I don't think I can say she is not listening except for selectively, maybe!