Thinking About... How Mike and I are going to raise our daughter to understand the beauty of her body the way God made it. The beauty of the inside of her. The beauty of the one-of-a-kind girl that is Gigi Kent. This weekend we saw Gigi perform at the fair with her dance class. It was precious. She loves the stage. She loves the spotlight, and she was in heaven for that 1:30 that was hers to do her thing.
BUT we also saw the rest of all the girls perform ages ranging from 3-16 and the older girls did a variance of dances from tap to hip-hop. I was shocked at the song choices (if you have to bleep out a bad word every few seconds, maybe it's not the best choice)...and shocked by the gyrating, booty shaking, twerking and shimmying that was going with these young girls. Mike and I looked at each other and was like, "really?". We were sad by the fact these sweet innocent girls are being exposed to music and body moves that we believe are inappropriate for their age.
Also, the hair...the makeup...the fake eyelashes on a 5 year old, really? I danced when I was REALLY little, but I settled into the athletics world...so this whole scene is new, different and very much out of our comfort zone and know-how. I am just not aware of what the standard is for a dancer..what they need to perform, what is necessary and what is just NOT. This all made me realize the challenge it is going to be to raise Gigi with a TRUE sense of awareness of who she is, what is appropriate and what is GOOD. Mike and I both agreed after tonight we don't want her dancing like that...but what if she loves dancing? Do we force her not to or give in? It is going to be brutal. Sex is just everywhere. Lord help all parents and give us wisdom.
Listening to... Hillsong's "Oceans" I know this song has been out for awhile now, but it took sometime for it to really resonate deeply in my heart. Now, I feel like every word from these lyrics are truly speaking to me and are very profound.
Thankful For... An eventful weekend with our little family. We still had some set backs (Mike might have pink-eye and I had a horrible sore throat and sinus headache all weekend) but at least the kids this weekend were happy and healthy. Some of our weekend adventures included: stuffing our faces with yummy Food Truck goodness, walks in the neighborhood, Red Box moxie rental, car washes, getting wet in the backyard, getting chores done, going to the county fair, playing carnival games, and watching Gigi perform. It was a good weekend.
What about you? What are you CURRENTLY up to?
We sang Oceans yesterday in worship. Such an awesome song. And the lyrics are so true and what I for one needed to sing to God yesterday!
ReplyDeleteMeg...isnt it the best?!!! I am so happy you love it too!
DeleteWow, this is why I'm so afraid to have girls! Parenting girls is hard work. But you and Mike are incredible parents, and the fact that you're thinking about this stuff and discussing it puts you way ahead of the game. Gigi is amazing, and she's lucky to have parents like you leading her in the right direction!
ReplyDeleteAlso, so jealous of your evening with the food trucks! YUM.
AK! Yes, it is a struggle...already. sheesh. Thank you for your kind words! The food truck fest was totally your thing, you would have loved it!
DeleteLooks like an awesome weekend, Cassie. And boy do I hear you about the dancing! I'm so grateful to have found the studio we found -- every single dance class is DRESSED, every class has appropriate music (it's really not that hard to find -- even with hip hop!), and every little girl is shown that she has value. It's really beautiful and such a blessing. I am like you in that I danced also, but was more into sports than dance. I LOVE dance though, and think that there is little substitute for what it can teach little girls about coordination and their bodies (besides gymnastics probably).
ReplyDeleteAnd I love these new changes!! Are they new or was I just blind? Your site looks awesome :) ~Jenna
Jenna! You have given me hope, thank you! I will be researching out dance companies that will be more appropriate for G as she gets older. And Yes, I am always making changes here and there to the blog to make it pretty ;) I think I am finally happy with it....for now
DeleteI feel like children's innocence is completely robbed from them at such a young age. I am so with you on keeping things age appropriate and letting them be KIDS! She looks so cute and oh my cheeks I want to squeeze them! I adore that song. I know mostly all the words and play it on repeat a few times when it comes up on my iPod. I pretty much love all Hillsong songs. When I was in labor I listed to Rest in You over and over again.
ReplyDeleteI KNOW! Its a crazy world out there ;). So glad you love Oceans too...isnt it amazing?!
DeleteI agree completely with the whole dance thing. It is getting ridiculous. Can't they find songs that aren't booty shaking?
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is beautiful. I also want to teach my 3 year old daughter to love her body & to be herself.
I love your weekend photos!! I am glad I stopped by. I will continue to do so.
I am stopping by from the Currently link up. I am Becky with Choose Happy :)
Becky, you are always so sweet. Thanks for coming on over. Lets just keep lifting each other and our daughters up in prayer, because that is seriously all you can do sometimes. Oh man, tough tough tough stuff out there.
DeleteGigi is adorable, I love those photos of her on the stage!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up with JOAT!