Our Wishes for You

Dear Sprout and Bean,

Daddy and I love both of you very much. Everyday we pray for you, share big dreams about your futures, and wish on lots of stars on your behalves. Below you will find a simple scattering of hopes that we have for each of you.

1. Simply put, we hope that you follow your dreams. If you are passionate about something, always know that your something is special and not silly. Each one of us is blessed with gifts. Be sure to use yours as much as you can. Don't misunderstand us, "mainstream" hobbies and careers are fantastic choices. However, should you have a desire to have your life's work to be a little out of the ordinary, that's just fine with us. Always remember that our world needs beautiful, twirling ballerinas and super cowboy heroes as much as it needs lawyers and doctors. We need painters to inspire us, astronauts to explore the Milky Way, and preachers to teach us about the most important things in life. Dream your dreams and live them out.

2. Never ever tease anyone. Do not laugh at someone else's expense. Abhor mean games that have been developed to break another's heart. We were all made in God's image. The Creator of all things molded each of us in our mothers' wombs. Our Father loves each of his children and so should you. Should you ever be placed in a situation where you are tempted to taunt another with your words or condescending stares, flee immediately. Befriend the friendless, pray for them, and pray that the hearts of their tormentors would be softened. And should you ever be the ones who are teased, remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Always know that you were made specifically for God's purposes and plans for your lives. Nothing was a mistake. Not one person on this earth can negate that fact.

3. Be honest and truthful. Do not use others as scapegoats when you make mistakes. Listen to constructive criticism. Learn from each and every error that you make. Take responsibility for your actions. And do not blame others for your shortcomings. Each one of us will say things that we will regret. We will act foolishly. We will jump to conclusions and we will be judgmental. However, just because you messed up one day does not mean that you have to mess up the next day as well. Every moment we have a choice and we can change our paths that we are currently on. Be sure to watch your feet.

4. Your daddy and I are doing our very bests to lead by example. However, we fail in this area all of the time. And when occasions arise that we disappoint you, know
that although we love you with all of our hearts, we are still mere humans. Your daddy and I are sinners saved by grace -- nothing more and nothing less. You may look to us for guidance and direction; we will always do our bests for you. But when we are wrong and when we fall short, do not despair. Remember that God is the only One who is perfect. He is the only One who will never let you down. Always look to Him to lead you, to guide you, and to direct your paths. Daddy and I look to Him, too.

Know that these are just a few of our desires for you. However, each wish on this list is very important to us. As time passes, I am sure that we will have lots of discussions about all of our hopes and dreams and thoughts and actions. And we can't wait for you to share your insights and your aspirations as well.

Love always,
Mommy

Letters

Dear Sprout,

You are a very sweet and a rather observant little man. Two of your very favorite things are music (just like your dad) and books (just like me). Yesterday at church you did something too sweet not to mention. Sprout, you love praise and worship time -- you stand up and in all seriousness, you wave your arms like an acclaimed orchestra conductor. Last night, you took your love of music to the next level. After praise and worship concluded, you reached for a hymnal on the back of the pew in front of you and Daddy handed it to you. You opened it on your lap and started singing with your softest, sweetest voice, "Lalalalala." At home, we gave you a "retired" hymnal and you opened its pages and sang in that same sweet voice. You have a sizable collection of books, but that music book is now very special to you. Daddy and I are amazed that you can already tell the difference between a page filled with music and a page filled with the written word. You are still a tiny little man, but you always manage to fill us with enormous awe.

Love always,
Mommy



Dear Bean,

I am now 21 weeks pregnant with you. We recently found out that you are a baby girl! Somehow, we knew that's just what you would be. It is such an amazing experience to watch you during an ultrasound. You look a lot like your brother did at this age, except you are much longer. In fact, at this past doctor's visit, you were holding your little head with your feet while wiggling your toes (see picture above). It looks like you have quite a personality already! It has been so much fun anticipating your arrival and dreaming about you. This past weekend, Nana Twyla and Hannah bought you some of the most precious clothes -- what a joy it was to admire little dresses and imagine the precious little girl who would wear them one day. When I hold your big brother, you feel his warmth and your squirm around just for us. Sprout will look at my tummy, and say "Baby!" with the biggest grin that a boy could ever have. We all love you and you'll have plenty of hugs and kisses waiting for you when your arrive. Thank you for bring so much joy to our family already.

Love always,
Mommy

GS

I am not usually one to write posts this personal in nature, but I have been convicted to do so. Here it is:

Not long ago, a wonderful man named GS was called home to Heaven. GS was a kind and gentle-hearted, yet strong man. He loved his family and he loved his church ... and everyone loved him. GS was the custodian at our church. At his funeral service, Pastor Don reminded us that "custodian" is defined as "care taker." We could not have asked for a better care taker in God's house.

GS's passing hit Andrew and I hard. His death was not expected and we always anticipated seeing him every Sunday. We know that every man will die, but in a way that's always hard to believe and even harder to accept. However, GS's funeral was a beautiful and poignant reminder of the free gift the Jesus Christ wants to offer every single one of us.

Please take a moment to read the information presented in this link: http://evangelismexplosion.org/resources/steps-to-life/

Many people confuse Christianity with "religion." On more than one occasion, I have had people ask me if I was a "religious person." This is not about being this religion or that religion ... rather, it is about one's personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I am a sinner saved by grace ... nothing more, nothing less.

I did not become a Christian until I was an adult. To be completely honest and transparent with you, I remember waking up at night sweating with fear at the thought that I would die one day. The whole concept made me feel hopeless and at times I wondered what the point of life was in the first place. I was never a wild child, per se ... but my outlook on life and my view of the world in general was completely different. I went to church and I studied a lot before I accepted the free gift of salvation. For me, it was the realization that Jesus was present from the beginning of time that helped all of the loose pieces fall into place. The very first chapter in the very first book of the Bible has a scripture that reads, "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26).

Let me make this clear, I still fall short every single day. I still do not understand everything and I still have questions ... but this is expected, I am merely human and not God. I am sure that I will learn lots and lots when I am in Heaven one day.

Please know that I am sharing this information out of my love for you. I wish that I would have known this Truth since childhood ... I would have lived my young life a lot differently. And as a mother, my single most important desire that I have for my children is that they come to know Christ at an early age and that they walk with Him for a lifetime. I apologize for not sharing my faith with you sooner.

As a closing to this special blog, please keep GS's family in your prayers. We rejoice in knowing that GS is in heaven... but he is missed nonetheless. GS reminded me (and many others) just how important a saving faith is.

Notes to our children

Dear Sprout,

I just wanted to write you a quick note to let you know how proud I am of you. You are growing up to be such a sweet and kind hearted young man. Last week at church, a few ladies told me how they love your continuous smile. That's a characteristic that I love about you, too. Joy just exudes from you.

You are very excited about being a big brother. I don't think you quite understand exactly what is going to happen in the months to come, but you do understand that it has something to do with a baby. Any time you see a baby, you get completely and utterly thrilled. You say "baby" bunches of times in your most happiest of voices. You want to hold babies and hug babies and kiss babies on their foreheads -- just like we do to you. I truly do not anticipate an ounce of jealousy from you. I think your just very excited to love someone else very soon.

I am now on Christmas break and I love being able to spend whole entire days with you. You look at me and smile and say "mama" and you give me billions of hugs around my neck. We are going to have great days together, my son. And just remember, summer is not too far away. Daddy and I love our special family times.

Yesterday we got a baby name book to help us with little Bean. We found out that one of the meanings of your name is "One who is precious." How perfect for you! We adore you, precious one.

Love Always,
Mommy

PS: Attached is a picture of you from your very first performance! You made an excellent dancing lamb!



Dear Bean,

We went to the doctors yesterday and we got to hear your little heartbeat. It's around 160 -- just like your brother's when he was your age. I like to think that the two of you have quick beats because you are growing big and loving hearts.

We find out if you are a boy or a girl in about 2 weeks. If you are a girl, we are settled on your name. And if you are a boy ... we are not quite sure yet... But I will tell you that we love each and every name that is on our list!

I am not sure if I feel you or not yet. I think I do periodically ... but not regularly yet. You know, that's a special time for a mommy and a baby -- it's our own little communication system! Each little message is very, very special.

We love you and we are so excited that you are a part of our family! God bless, sweet little Bean!

Love always,
Mommy

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Our Babies

The first picture shows our baby Sprout when I was 13 weeks pregnant with him. This next photo is our little baby Bean -- whom I am 13 weeks pregnant with now. Our children! How wonderful it is to say, "Our children."

Thansgiving in my Heart

Dear God,

Thank You for everything. Thank You for Your plans. Thank You for Your will. Thank You for all that is good and for all that is just. Thank You for being all knowing and ever present.

Jesus, I thank You for this little family of mine. I thank You for a godly husband that I admire and look up to. I thank You for my little boy, my little sunshine ... and I thank you for this new baby on the way. I thank You for letting me be a wife and mother -- I will do my best to never take these blessings for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving, world! And Happy Thanksgiving to You, Creator of the world.

I will love you forever.

Amen