Anne is Twelve

My eldest is twelve! As always with Anne, she seems older than she actually is. Anne is responsible, intelligent, witty, capable, and fun. 

Anne has grown so much this year. She’s 5 foot 2 inches and will most definitely surpass my meager 1” hold on her well before she’s a teenager. She loves that she’s tall and finds it hilarious that she’ll be towering over me in short order. Anne had a good softball season this past spring. She mostly played second base and right field. 

(Number 8, running home!)

She continues to do well in school. She loves to read and especially enjoys science. Anne is well read on many topics and has a great memory. She really likes acting and is happy to be in a Christmas play at church this year. 

Anne did the 4h Woolies Club with a lamb she named Jett Puff. It was a really good learning experience and proved once again her responsibility as she fed and watered her lamb twice a day and carried 50 pound feed bags down to their pen. It was fun for her to have a larger animal. But, it was a lot of work for her parents also, mainly for Trent. 

Anne has been helpful to me as a mini mom since she was probably 5 years old. However, since Heidi came home she has taken on quite a bit of extra work. She reads the history lessons to Abbey and Maggie while I’m putting the little girls down for their naps in the afternoon. She will often babysit some of her siblings while I take others to doctor appointments. She has a couple of dinners that she cooks for us. And beyond that, she loves to help care for Heidi. Anne can regularly be found holding, talking, bouncing and play with her baby sister. 

This year Anne got a hamster for her birthday. She was so surprised because she knows I don’t like them. But as I told Anne, I love her more than my own distaste for a particular rodent (as long as it stays in the cage)! 

This year Trent decided to get serious about hunting, mainly because Anne wanted to go. They spent many days scouting out hunting spots on public land, hiking around, going to the shooting range, and talking strategy and safety. 

Their first day out they saw a line of doe but they couldn’t get a shot at them. 

Despite that, they had a good day in the woods. 

They hunted a different spot in the afternoon and spent the time whittling an arrow. 

They didn’t see anything but she spoke to me later and told me how close to God she felt as she watched the sun come up that morning and filter down through the leaves in the trees. She spoke more eloquently and poetically about this time than I can remember or recapture in my own words. It was clear to me that the time she spent with her dad out in the woods was profound and moving. She told me how she was often thinking (since she couldn’t talk) about God and creation and she prayed a lot. Wow, what a mature girl of twelve.

And finally, finally. She got another chance to go out hunting. Farmer friends of ours invited Anne to come to their property to hunt. This morning around 6:30 Trent and Anne were settled in their spot in the woods. It was a balmy 28 degrees. Time spent silently in the woods feels long. They had agreed they could only stay out until about 10 because we had afternoon plans. 

It was past 9:00 and they hadn’t seen anything. Discouragement was settling in. Anne heard a stick crack and turned to see three doe jogging into the woods. She had her eye on the biggest one but couldn’t get a shot because of branches and brush in the way. After a few minutes of being bedded down it stood up and walked forward enough to be in perfect position for a clear shot. Anne got it in her sights and was very calm and shot. She pulled the trigger but still had the safety on. She kept her cool, refocused and shot. The deer all ran away. 

She was sure she hit it but Trent thought she missed. Anne was certain she saw blood but Trent was skeptical as they were about 75 yards away. But Anne was right. After waiting a minute they hiked down after it, followed the blood trail and found her doe. It was an exciting moment for both of them. 

We are really grateful to our friends for allowing Anne to hunt on their property. It will be something she remembers forever. She was so proud to have made such a clean shot through the heart and that her efforts will feed our family through the winter. 

Happy twelfth birthday, my Anne girl! We love you so much!

Anne is (has been) 11 (for awhile now)

Somehow time has a way of going so slow and yet flying by at the same time.

Between painting signs for the fundraiser, Thanksgiving, Caroline's 5th birthday, Christmas and New Year, I allowed myself to get propelled along without sitting down to blog about two special birthdays.

Beautiful Anne

Back in November, which is now nearly three months ago, Anne turned 11. Eleven! It seems strange to think that I've been a mom for over eleven years. I don't even feel all that old. Ok, maybe some days I do.

Anne is a really awesome kid. She is very responsible (like, way more trustworthy than I was at 11). She is a fun girl to be around with a good sense of humor. Anne loves to read books. She recently took her 5th grade CAT (California Achievement Test) exam and scored ridiculously high in all the reading sections (we're talking high school/college levels).

Growing up!

It certainly wasn't a surprise as I am with her everyday so I know how much she reads, how quickly she reads, and how accurately she remembers what she reads. Truly, it's mind boggling how she can recite something from a book she just read. Even when she was little she could quote nearly full sentences from books she has only read once. While this is an excellent skill it makes her less than wonderful at summarizing a book because she remembers and wants to retell every little detail.

Anne has a love, zeal and passion for life. She likes to do just about everything and is nearly always willing to try something at least once. She still wants to be a nurse when she grows up which is great because she is intelligent, compassionate, and hard-working. I have no doubt that she will excel in whatever she does as an adult because she is already a great pre-teen.

Speaking of being a pre-teen, yes, we have had some challenges. While she is as described in the above paragraphs most of the time, Anne will be the first to admit that she isn't always like Mary Poppins and "practically perfect in every way".

Both Anne and I have had some difficult emotional swings in the past couple of months. I am glad that I remember being 12 and how terrible I was. However, in the moment of Anne's outrage I raised her up one and instantly regretted allowing myself to be baited by an eleven-year-old. In the end, both Anne and I apologized to each other and were able to move on. In my regret I worried for days about how my own actions would spoil our good mother-daughter relationship. When I brought it up to Anne several days later she said, "Just forget about it, mom. I already forgave you and you forgave me."

Have I mentioned how awesome she is? I'm pretty sure I was not that magnanimous when I was eleven. Heck, I'm not sure I'm that magnanimous at 34.

Anne is a fantastic big sister. She is always a great help with Caroline and Ruth. She is growing up quickly and has outgrown most toys, but still likes legos and board games. She loves drawing, especially pictures of horses.

She still would love to have a horse, but she'll have to settle for a lamb since she is joining the 4-H Woolies Club. It should be an interesting learning experience.

Anne is growing so quickly these days. She is now 5 feet tall, just three more inches and we'll be the same height. This past year she grew three inches so I wouldn't be surprised if by the time she turns 12 she is as tall as me!

Happy (very belated) birthday to my Anne. Thanks for all you do for our family. You are my biggest helper and things would be much more difficult without you. I love you, Anne-girl!

Anne is Ten!

My firstborn daughter is ten!

Anne has grown from a wild child....

(1-year old Anne at the cabin)

To a calmer 5-year-old...

(Anne at age 5)

To a responsible ten-year old!

(Anne, age 10)

Much has changed in Anne’s ten years. She was an incredibly challenging child from about 1-3 years old. Very ornery, would talk back, always had excuses for her negative behavior, very wild and rambunctious. 

Age four seemed to be her turning point. She gained self-control and a sense of discipline. 

Now, at age ten (while certainly not perfect) she truly is a delight. Anne is very helpful in our big family. She especially enjoys the littlest sisters and helping to care for them. 

Anne is an amazing student. She is self-motivated to get her work done in a timely fashion. 

Things Anne loves:

Horses! (This is one aspect of her life that has never wavered since the time she could talk)

Reading voraciously 

Sewing and cross stitching 

History 

The color blue

Riding bike

Playing softball 

Finding frogs

Catching small rodents in our window wells

Finding slugs

Drawing (horses)

Playing outside

Desserts

Climbing trees

Playing piano

Sunday School with the two best teachers ever (Marty & Janice! She appreciates both of your styles)

Making up games

The comics 

Board games

Reading about horses

Attempting to argue the merits of horse-ownership 

Puns

Most foods but NOT carrots 

Have I mentioned horses?

Every year, Trent takes the birthday girl out for lunch and to do something special.

 As turning ten is a big deal, we wanted this year to be extra special and memorable. 

The thing that made the most sense was to take Anne on her first ever trail ride and first independent riding. 

We found a stable in Maryland (just 45 minutes away) that offers trail rides. 

Needless to say, she was thrilled! (Anne on Whitney, Trent on Skipper, who loves to eat)

They took an hour trail ride, mainly through woods. 

Anne was very comfortable on her horse, Whitney. She has read so many books about horses and knew just what to do. 

(Horse shirt from grandpa and grandma Hess)

She had a wonderful time with her dad. I’m confident it will be a day she holds precious in her memories. Unfortunately this has further fueled her desire to have one of her own. 

Since we are a big family, we do not do birthday parties every year for our kids. We typically have small celebrations with just our kids, sometimes with a special meal including my mom (Mema), and a special meal that Trent’s mom prepares for our Wednesday together. Birthday gifts are generally small (1 book, 1 movie, 1 fun thing).

But on “special years” we go all out. So far those are first birthday, fifth birthday and 10th birthday. 

This year we surprised Anne with a 26” mountain bike. All our bikes have been yard sale or craigslist finds, so a new from the store bike was super special. 

While she certainly can still be silly.....

Riding with no hands!

She is also becoming a sweet young lady. 

While I sometimes wish she would be a little less of a mama hen (as certain younger sisters resent her “helpful instruction” aka “bossiness”), I know that she will one day make a most excellent wife and mother. 

She does take her faith seriously. She has asked a lot about baptism recently and we are attempting to guide her to make a mature decision in the future. Anne is usually quick to forgive and ask forgiveness. She understands there are things about herself that she is working to change. One of the things I love most about Anne is her willingness to attempt to change. It’s not easy for any of us to admit weakness, yet she accepts her failings with humility and grace and makes concerted efforts to change. 

As the oldest, she has to put up with my failings as a mother. Every age she goes through is the first time I’ve parented her particular age. She bears the brunt of my parenting errors and I can only pray it will make her a most compassionate mother herself one day. 

So happy birthday to the first ten-year-old I will raise. We love you, Anne-girl and look forward to your big, cowboy themed party next weekend!