Mercedes

Mercedes is a sweet girl who is a very Tender Flame. Sometimes she is tender, and other times you had better watch out or feel the burn of her flame. Hence, Tender Flame. She is a good little babysitter though, her desire to always follow the rules with exactness has made her very responsible. At Luke's soccer games, we let her take the little girl cousins over to the toys to play. She feels the responsibility of this task and does her best to keep track of them. Well, they scurried off to where they weren't supposed to be and she couldn't find them. It scared her. She quickly thought to pray and sure enough they were found and all was OK. I was glad to hear that she thought to pray almost immediately and I tried to point out that her testimony of prayer had gotten stronger. She was quick to respond that it has.

Like I had said in Joshua's post, Mercedes was quite afraid of one particular coaster ride. She did eventually overcome her fear of it and rode it reluctantly with Jon Mark. She was so upset and crying that the employees had asked Jm to quietly exit to the left. Jm assured them that she was fine. They told him that they could not run the coaster when she was crying and not wanting to go. They needed a thumbs up from her. So, after what seemed like five minutes, Mer finally between sobs gave them a thumbs up and they let her ride. She was so scared that she ducked down and in the picture that they take on the ride, she couldn't be seen. It was as though Jm had ridden it alone. I was so proud of her for conquering her fear. Jm used her fear to tease her on other rides, but she was a good sport about it.

Mercedes teacher gave her a HUGE packet of homework for the days she has missed. She has been so responsible and has worked diligently on it. She is a very good student. She tries her best and wants to succeed quite naturally. She doesn't need to much external motivation.

Mercedes wore a black sweatshirt to Disneyland. It was so dark against her pale skin and super blonde hair. At one point she had worn the hood and it covered her messy hair and only whisps escaped the hood. She looked so grown up. What a beautiful girl she is inside and out. I'm so proud of her.