That Anna Girl, on her 10th

That Anna-girl is something else.  She is so impressively smart. Like, ahead-of-her-years smart.  And she grows more lovely with every passing day, in a sweet and understated way.  She is a treasure. But she is a mess.  And now she is all of TEN years.  So like, she is a full-on 'tween or pre-teen or something and, y'all, we are seeing it.  😳  There are moods and highs and lows.  She has become regularly disinterested/ disapproving of ideas and options presented to her that she used to be into.  Just a slightly negative vibe more often than not now?  Dare I say, a touch mean to Noah without provocation (thought she has endured a TON of provocation from him for years so maybe it's just a learned response that is now pre-emptive?) A lot of "meh" types of moods coming across.  I don't know what to do with this!  Wait it out?  It's just a phase? Help!  (Although now that I think about it, maybe negative is the wrong word for it.  Maybe it's just ... opinionated?  And those opinions just happen to not match mine?  Which makes ME negative?  Yeesh. That might be it. ) The mother-'tween daughter dynamic can get dicey, I guess.  Better proceed with caution, Kimmie. 

But, gah!, I love her to pieces and I am so proud to call her mine and to be in her company when she and I are out and about.  I am so proud when I hear friends exclaiming over her, impressed by the things she says and the heart she shares.  Y'all.  She is so witty and sincere and intuitive and quick and of course creative.  She is a loner who LOVES to be with girlfriends when she can, which is a weird mix to make heads or tails of.  She is all big kid at 10 and yet she when she plays babies or play doh or kitchen with Lasa, she seems to be realllllllly into it. ;) She enjoys her video game time for sure, but she can enjoy spacing out in her room with no screens just as much.  She doesn't get desperate for screentime like her brother.  She reads and reads and reads and reads.  And then she writes.  Writes like a dream.  She seems to have a knack with her violin (thought it is a solid challenge for her for sure) and she has thanked me for signing her up for that class, which I love. She is just as much spa girl at heart as she is survival girl.  She is hands-on with every single thing her Daddy does outside in the shed or garden or bunny bin;  the dirt under her nails proves it.  😬  She is often striking deals with Noah and often trying to weasel out of it when it's her turn to hold up her end of the bargain.  She has fallen in love with one-on-one time with Josh or me ... anything that gets her a break from big bother and little sister.  She is sensitive and considerate and silly and I want to say helpful, but I will reference that first paragraph on that point and just say that that part of her feels like it's dropping off into more Meh than not lately.  I will miss my Anna in the coming moody teen years, I can tell.  We talk a lot about how we can plan to handle ourselves when they get here and she is really taking it to heart.  I know, because her Sunday School teacher was gushing and holding back tears sharing with me the transparent, tender-hearted personal prayer request my angel girl shared last weekend about this very thing.  She already appeals to the Holy Spirit to help her keep her moods in check. She's already a better teenager than I EVER was.  And now I am all emotional thanking the Lord for her precious heart of gold.  I'm not crying; you're crying!

She cracked me up the other day, saying something about our living room being a "snorechestra" when her daddy and papa were sleeping/snoring on the couches simultaneously. She made (what I found to be) some really amusing time-lapse videos of her cleaning her room that I will attach here.  She's praying for more friendships.  She won't let me sell her football cleats because she is determined to play another season at least.  Football!  My scrawny girl.  Sheesh.  She is so good at sleeping in now - almost too good. HA!  She wanted to complete a birthday survey ... but hasn't gotten it done yet,  and now, days later,  I am done waiting for it.  She is a complicated treasure.  😉

On this, her 10th birthday, I humbly thank the Lord for this daughter he designed for our family, for my life.  I know she changes me just as much as I change her.  May we both go at it gently all these precious days we have ahead of us. 

Happy Birthday, my beautiful Anna.  I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.  Ten is gonna be a great year to be you!   ~Love, Mommy  (I love that you still call me Mommy)