Trials as a mother.

So yesterday I was looking through my purse to see how much money I had left so that I could grab some things from the store. Well I noticed that $5 was missing. I immediately thought that Sol took it for his lunch, but then a feeling came over me that it wasn't him, it was Serena. I knew why. She came into the living room and had a $5 bill in her hand. I asked her where she got it and she said from her friend. They made a bet and she won. I was too consumed with what I was doing and let it go. That's where I went wrong. I should've probed into it more, but I didn't. Well I confronted her in the kitchen that same day. First I asked Sol to make sure, and then I asked Serena. She flat out lied to my face. When I told her that I would call the school tomorrow and ask the girl if she gave her money, she still stood her ground. I said "Serena are you being honest with me?" She said, "yes mommy I promise." That nearly killed me. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was lying. I then said, "don't make promises you can't keep." She broke down and said, "what is my punishment if I did take it?" Wow, she really wanted to know her punishment before she told the truth. Hello, does she not know that stealing and lying are wrong. I said there is no punishment if you didn't do it, but if you did, you will have to pay the money back. She then admitted that she took it. She said she took it because she couldn't find her money and just thought we shared. I said to her, "did you ask me where your money was, so that I could remind you that we moved it?" She just nodded her head no. I called my husband into the room and had all the kids go downstairs so that we could deal with this. I was shocked that she had no remorse in her eyes, or even tears. She just sat there cold and lost. I became worried that she didn't UNDERSTAND that what she did was wrong. I mean we teach our kids to Choose The Right, but are we really teaching them what that means. My husband said just slap her and she'll learn her lesson and that's when she started crying. I said no, that is too easy, I need her to understand and learn from her mistakes. In the end I told her that she was committing criminal acts and so her punishment will be that in a way. She will pay back restitution for what she did and she will not be able to go anywhere or talk to anyone before and after school. So she had to clean the windows and the blinds in the whole house and was grounded for a day. I needed her punishment to reflect her mistake in a way. I then became numb for the rest of the day. I am so worried about her. I prayed right after that ordeal and then basically cried myself to sleep as I was praying for her again. I can see now, why the Lord chose to put me into Young Women's. He is preparing me for what's yet to come. I pray that Serena learns from her mistakes now, rather than later. I love her so much and it just hurts to know that she is crying out for my attention in a negative way. I asked the Lord to help me be a better mother to her and the rest of my children. I need them to know that I LOVE them.

Part two of this post will come later. I had an answer to my prayers and I'll write about it when I have more time.