To my Angeli

Dear Angeli,

Oh, my sweet girl. I am so glad we named you Angeli, you are an angel. You are never mean. You are a nurturer through and through. You are so patient and put others before yourself. At dinner time we always ask what our favorite part of our day was and what was one thing we did for someone else and you always have a list of things you could mention as your nice things. I love watching you interact with others whether it is the puppies, or your little sister, or your rambunctious brothers you are always so kind to them. You talk to the puppies with so much love and happy sweetness. You delight in making your baby sister giggle. And you are the one who sits with me and watches Genevieve as we both laugh and adore her together.

You like making others happy. For your birthday you got a lot of dollar bills and so what did you do the next couple days? Share them with the family. I had to keep telling people to give you back your money since they still had so much of their own birthday money and you were so disappointed that I made them give you your money back. :)

When we talked about what everyone liked about you on your birthday your brothers both said, "I love playing with Angeli!" They adore you because you are so much fun to play with. You seem to have the ability to enjoy others so much that they feel how much you enjoy them and feel so great about themselves and have so much fun with you. You are so quick to have fun and to giggle when it come to your brothers and everyone has fun when you are in the game. you don't get hung up on winning and and being the best , or having it your way...you are there to have fun. Everyone likes to claim you as their best friend. Often when we have to say what our favorite part of our day is Bridger and Ben will say, "playing with Angeli." You blossom in one-on-one play dates with your friends. Groups are not very fun for you but one-on-one is perfectly delightful for you.

You love feeling pretty. You like to dress up and put on twirly skirts. Sometimes I catch you looking at your self in the mirror and you are smiling at your reflection and trying out different poses, and facial expressions,....this is also why you are my best picture taker! :O) Bridger always compliments you when you are dressed fancy and you love it. When you put on something you think is fancy and lovely you run to show him and he undoubtedly will tell you how pretty you look. :O) it is sweet. For Christmas you were given a jewelry kit and you made some snap on earrings when you put them on you looked so beautiful and grown up...a little too pretty and grown up if you ask me. I deiced right then you are not getting your ears priced until you are 12! :O) I hope you wont get too wound up in that stuff....but I think its part of girls nature to want to be like a beautiful flower and you surely are a sweet lovely bloom. I hope I can be a good role model to you about not basing your worth on your appearance....you are so so so much more then that!

You are smart and hardworking. You love doing what i s right. When you do something nice or good or a chore or something you just beam and feel so great. I love giving you opportunities to do something good because it makes you just sparkle with excitement.

You love to sing, to dance, to swim, to go on walks, to ride your bike, to play the wii, to read stories with mom and dad, you love doing school work, you love to color, and you love chopping in the kitchen. even though trying new things can be a bit scarey you are good at everything you try. It is so fun to watch you realize how fun and enjoyable new things are as you venture out into trying new things. You love all art. When you color you are very thoughtful and pick each color with care. You love color and your pictures are always the most colorful.

You have a very tender little heart. Sometimes you get anxious and worry a lot and you sometimes try to suppress any emotion that you think would make others upset. I love teaching you how to be brave and face hard things and that it is okay to admit when you feel sad, or worried, or angry. As we have been working with you it has been such a sweet experience to watch you tentatively come out of your shell a little more and take more risks and have you realize how strong you really are. I love seeing your little heart feel more and more brave. I am so grateful you have Bridger who shares your tenderness but loves taking risks and putting himself out there. You are a such a blessing in helping him make smart choices, not taking too many risks and he helps you reach a little farther and be more carefree.

I love to cuddle with you and I love sitting with you and holding onto you while reading stories and talking to you about what your thoughts are. Your thoughts are delightful. :O)

Your father and you really enjoy your special time together taking care of the doggies. You and he have the same heart for animals and you two really love walks with the doggies and taking them on adventures. It is one of my favorite things watching you four together. :O)

Angeli, when I think of you all grown up I see a beautiful women. I see a beautiful mother and nurturer. I see your angelic nature blessing everyone around you as your spread kindness, peace, love, and joy with your gentle spirit. You will be a perfect mother, being kind, patient, teaching them with love,.... it will be second nature to you. To me you exemplify beauty and virtue. Oh, how Heavenly Father will rejoice as he knows he can send his special children to such a good loving mother. You are a wonderful friend and I am so glad I have you as my sweet daughter and friend. You will always be my little rose bud and I love watching you blossom more and more all the time. I count it as a tender blessing to get to be your mother. I love you forever.

With all my hugs, squeezes, and smiles,

Your Mommy