about Anna

I realized that I kind of skimmed over Annalisa's 10th birthday without spotlighting her at all.

I wanted to take a minute to write .....

10 things I don't want to forget about Anna at 10 years old:

10)  She's obsessed with her hair.  She has VERY thick and VERY curly hair.  It would be a lot easier if it was short, but she loves it long.  My sister has the same kind of hair and she resented my mom for cutting it short - so I let Anna keep it long.  If it gets messed up at all she freaks out - crying and carrying on until I fix it.  I had to drop something off at the school and I found Anna in a tearful mess outside because someone had accidentally messed her hair up.  Oh boy!


9)  She loves friends.  She's my most social child by far!  She is a friend magnet and loves to have FUN!  She doesn't get into the drama that the other girls are having at school.  She just wants to play and she likes everyone.  She's super creative and all the neighborhood kids want to play with Anna because she comes up with fun games to play!


8)  She is a worrier.  If there is a possibility of something going wrong - she worries about it.  She obsesses over little details and gets very anxious about them.  She would probably be diagnosed with OCD, but we are trying to manage things without medication.


7)  She loves babies.  Probably more than any of my other kids.  She is such a good helper with Landon and Lea.


6)  She loves animals.   She wishes we could have a dog, cat, and horses.  We don't share her enthusiasm especially because pets we have had have not been positive experiences.  Someday she will probably live on a farm in the country with a dozen kids and lots of animals around!


5)  She has struggled with piano for awhile, mostly because she doesn't enjoy practicing and I haven't been as consistent with practicing with her.  (Cut me some slack, I just had 2 babies in 2 years!!)  I am now paying Akayla to teach her and Mariah.  She is doing so well now!  She even told me she likes it now, which is all I care about.  My kids don't have to be concert pianists (I know everyone thinks I want that - I really don't!), but I want them to love to play!


4)  She doesn't love school - at all.  It causes her a lot of stress (except the fun parts of course).  She gets good grades in most of her classes, but math causes her a lot of worry.  She overthinks things and gets really worked up about them.  Dave is really good with her and helps her understand a lot.  He's the official homework helper, and all of the kids are so lucky to have such a smart dad who teaches so well!


3)  She loves Justin Bieber.  She knows all the words and sings along to all of his songs.  She has such a beautiful voice and it's so cute to hear!


2)  She loves to laugh.  She finds something funny in pretty much everything.  I love that she's happy, but sometimes she gets the giggles at the worst times!!


1)  She is sensitive to other's feelings.  This is probably the trait I love most about Anna.  She cries during movies and books when bad things happen to people.  She is the first one to help when someone in our family is hurt or sad.

Annalisa shares a bed with Lea.  Every night when Annalisa kneels down to pray she helps Lea say a prayer.  The other night I walked into their bedroom and Anna was praying, but Lea was in her bed with her hands clasped - saying a prayer.  It was so cute!  Annalisa is such a good example to her younger sisters and brother!

Annalisa is smack dab in the middle of 9 kids.  She has 4 older siblings, and 4 younger.
We're so lucky to have her in our family!

good things:
going on a walk with my family last night
always having what we need
generous people