Happy 14th, Angela!

How does a child grow up so much in one year? This year our sweet Angela has definitely become a young lady.

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For nearly two years, Angie explored sides of her personality that somewhat obscured the princess side of her nature. She was no less feminine, but she wasn’t doing nearly as much dressing up and showing off her prissy side. In the last few months, though, the experimentation has settled and she has learned to merge the new discoveries with the princess that has dominated her nature since birth.

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Angela’s love for anything sewing related has continued. When she outgrew her last antebellum dress, we went to buy several yards of hot pink fabric so she could make a new one. And make it she did. I intended to help her, but she had it done herself in no time!

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She still loves quilting and is constantly creating new designs. But, she’s waiting for it to get cooler again before piecing a new one. In the meantime, she is constantly knitting or crocheting something. Her hope is to experiment with creating items she can sell for various fundraisers, whether for camp, mission trips, missions giving, or whatever other need arises. After seeing how much other people charge even for simple patterns, she’s realizing she might be able to create and sell patterns as well as products. It is fun to watch her and her big sister put their heads together to plot such endeavors. She has also explored writing, especially songs and mysteries. But, her primary love will always be the sewing, I think.

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Cowie, who is also celebrating her 14th birthday, is now quite the matriarch. Angie and Cowie manage a rather large herd of stuffed cows. Somehow they ALL fit on her bed with her!

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Our princess would still rather curl up with a book than interact with a group (Her reading goal for this year, including school books, is nearly a book a day! Yikes!), and enjoys a few close friends more than a party. But, she is learning more and more how to be social and interactive – and how to handle those moments when she needs a recharge but also needs to be around people.

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Pretty flowers are attracting Angela’s attention more and more. She actually enjoys keeping the iris bed clear of weeds and has been brainstorming ways to improve it. And, she wants to begin learning about other flowers and how to grow them well.

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She has never before been one to care about taking anything apart or discovering how things work. But, she’ll explore a flower, analyze a sweater, or devour a new quilt pattern, considering how she can incorporate the beauty or design into her own creativity.

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Oh, and have I mentioned the braids? Angela has a whole Pinterest board devoted to braids. She tries them out on her semi-willing big sister model. Angela is the only one (other than Mom, of course) permitted to mess with Olivia’s hair, and although Olivia is not always overly enthusiastic about Angie’s experiments, she always allows them (well, except for the big bows – she’s not too happy about Angie’s love for big bows!). Angie can’t do most of the braids on herself, though, so she has gotten Mom involved to ensure that she, too, gets to wear the fancy braids. Needless to say, I’m learning a lot about braids!

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The child who used to love dresses had stopped wearing them much for a while, but we eventually realized that it was because she still really loved the little girl styles and hadn’t found a more grown-up alternative. But, lately she has managed to collect a great rotation of long, flowing skirts, thanks to hand-me-downs, gifts, and perfect thrift-store finds. That has become her new style, and I don’t think she’s worn pants or shorts, except for yard work or other such activities, in nearly two months!

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But, even if the creative, beautiful, frilly princess is back, the sassy warrior has not disappeared! We still joke that her brain is constantly working to calculate world domination. It’s only a matter of time.

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I am so proud of this precious girl who loves to learn, create, and explore, but still struggles to realize just how much talent flows through her veins. As she prepares for high school, she is learning what it means to challenge herself academically and that it is okay to have to work to learn some things. But, it’s obvious that learning will always be relatively easy for her, even if some subjects are less desirable than others.

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So, happy 14th birthday, beautiful Angela! We love you, treasure you, and look forward to watching you continue to learn, grow, create, and explore the depths of who God created you to be!

Comments

NWB said…
Very Beautiful pictures!!!!!

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