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Collin M. Smith Photography
Callie Page
F
ive year old Callie Page is the precious child of Grant and Rhonda Page of
Florence. Rhonda shares, “She is a sweet, loving child. When her father and I
leave home, she has to give us at least three big hugs and ‘bye’ kisses before
we leave. If she doesn’t get them, then she cries and cries, and we usually have
to turn around and go back home to get them. That’s so sweet and melts my heart. I
hope this never changes!” She has one older sister, Lauren, and one younger brother,
Emerson. “She gets along well with them, but like most, they have their times. This
past year, I have noticed she tries to copy some things Lauren does, like wearing similar clothes and playing with the same toys. Callie enjoys hugging on Emerson one
minute, then picking at him the next. He loves to pull her hair, then give her a big hug.”
Callie attends McLaurin Elementary’s Montessori Program and is currently in
5K. “She enjoys all subjects and loves to learn. Her teacher brags on how focused she
is and how she gets her work done in a timely manner.” Her favorite extracurricular
activity is dance, especially ballet. “She loves the spot light! On the way to her recital,
I said, ‘If you get nervous or forget part of the routine, remember the teachers will
be behind the curtain and you can watch them.’ She replied, ‘I don’t ne ed to watch
them, I don’t get nervous.’ And, for the most part, she didn’t watch the teachers. She
just grinned real big and did the routine on her own!” In the future, she hopes to
become a ballet teacher or rockstar once she grows up.
According to Rhonda, Callie is a girly girl. “She loves to dress ‘pretty’ with jewelry. She commonly wears princess dresses, shoes and a crown around the house, and
will wear them all day.” As with most girls, she also loves flowers. “When she sees
them, she always runs up to smell them and will pick them if I’m not careful to stop
her! While playing outside, she will pick a flower then bring it to me and say, ‘I have
a gift for you, Mommy.’ I refer to her as my Flower Child.” Her favorite color is pink,
and her favorite movies are Second Chance and Disney’s Frozen. She enjoys watching Nick Jr., which Rhonda admits she will watch for hours if she could. “When she
was younger, she would get up in the middle of the night and go to the living room
to watch Dora The Explorer, Go, Diego, Go! and other Nick Jr. shows. Some of her
favorites now are from the Disney Jr. channel, like Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First.”
Since she’s a girly girl, it’s no surprise that she loves all things fashion. “She usually
prefers dresses. Her favorites are ones that she can twirl in. Her favorite pieces of jewelry right now are her charm necklace and bracelet, and a Frozen bracelet. She enjoys
the charm jewelry because it’s full of charms that fit her personality, like ballet slippers, nail polish, princesses and a castle.” She loves to model as well, especially when
Collin Smith is behind the camera. Rhonda admits Callie is known as ‘Pokeyhontas’
around the Page household. “She takes so long to get ready! It takes her longer to
get going in the mornings. Before she leaves, she has to go back in her room to get
her jewelry and a purse.” One of her favorite stores is Mommy’s Pretty N’ Bliss. “She
thinks it’s awesome that I own a women’s and children’s clothing store. We haven’t
explained exactly what owning a business means, other than Mommy has a lot to
keep up with and do. She doesn’t know that I have paid for everything in the store, so
she will ask me to buy her something. Grant and I like it this way. We limit what our
children get from there. They don’t get a new outfit every time they come in. I usually
try to limit them to a couple a month during the shipping months, like 12 - 15 times
a year. I don’t want them to walk in any store and expect to get whatever they want,
whenever they want it. They have to decide which ones they like the best.”
In her spare time, she enjoys swimming at Nana’s house, playing on the iPad,
getting yogurt at Orange Leaf and playing dress-up and school. She also likes being
Mommy’s Little Helper. On weekends, she is eager for Sunday. “She looks forward to
going to church. We moved a few weeks before Emerson was born, so we missed a
lot of church for a few months. She was so upset! She loves to learn about God. We
have a children’s book that tells stories from the Bible in kids’ language, and we read
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September 2014
it almost every night. I’ll read one story, then she’ll ask me to keep reading. We teach our children to always
put God first and think about what He would do in every situation. We also try to instill within them to always
do what is right and remember that although God isn’t here in person, He sees and hears all your thoughts
and actions.”
The couple strives to show their children the value of hard work and success. “With both of us being business owners, we teach them that you have to work for what you get.” They also stress the importance of
doing what needs to be done (such as chores) and giving back to the community. “We teach them that life
isn’t all about you, but rather what you can do with the gifts God has given you. We encourage them to volunteer with fundraisers, donate and help the needy, and to encourage others instead of saying ugly or hurtful
things.” Most importantly, Grant and Rhonda hope Callie will continue to follow Christ as she lives life to the
fullest. “She is such a joy and a delight. We are truly blessed! I am so thankful and grateful the Lord chose us
to be her parents.”
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