OH, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

This is a quick blog about our calm daughter. Gabriella is anything but calm. She is a very high energy girl who wants constant attention. She frequently wears her family out-especially her mother! On the flip side, she is very responsible and hard working and she amazes us with her maturity.

We are trying to have extra compassion for our children, as we know that they are experiencing Culture Shock in the same way that we are experiencing it. Overall, our kids have adjusted amazingly well to life in Brazil. They have, however, each been acting out in different ways. Gabriella seems to be reacting by being even more "hyper" which is just hard to believe. She is also sassy and demanding. The other day was particularly hard. She was "in my face" all day and was being mean to her brothers. After a little bit too much coca cola at the neighbors that evening, she was out of control. Mommy had to pull her aside and spank her, which only had a short term affect on her behavior.

By the time we got home, daddy had had enough, and mommy was coming down with a headache. I was in my bedroom listening as Marko had a "talk" with his darling daughter. Next thing I knew, she was screaming at the top of her lungs: "No, daddy, don't spank me! Your spankings hurt!" I peaked around the corner and saw Gabriella sitting cross legged on the floor with her hands on her hips and a very angry expression on her face. Daddy told her that he needed to give her a spanking for being disrespectful and her response was: "Oh, for crying out loud daddy, mommy already spanked me for that!" Marko and I looked at each other and we just couldn't help it-we started laughing hysterically to which she said: "Don't you dare laugh at me!" WOW! Can you say "Spitfire"!!

What's that saying: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Guess which parents has the bad habit of saying: "Oh, for crying out loud!"? Parenting is humbling isn't it?

I have to share one more Gabriella story. Yesterday afternoon before school, Gabriella brought me her Portuguese dictionary and asked me to show her which words she would use "just in case" she got sick at school. Specifically, she wanted to know how to tell her teacher she had a stomach ache and needed to go home. I wrote down the words "Eu doente" which just means "I'm sick". Gabriella had me write it on a sticky note for her to take to school "just in case".

That evening when I picked Gabriella up from school the school Director wanted to speak with me. She told me that Gabriella had complained about feeling sick in the middle of the day and wanted to go home. I started to laugh and explained to her (with an interpreter) what had happened that morning. We all had a good laugh. Gabriella knew exactly what she was doing when she asked me for that sticky note!

Enjoy some "Gabriella" photo's-one which she quite obviously took herself!