A Letter to My Little One

My Darling Sweet Pea,

I can hardly believe that I am a mere nine weeks away from meeting you. That is, if you are on time. I am just weeks away from meeting the little being that has been growing inside of my tummy for over 31 weeks. I know you won't understand this for a while, and you may not fully understand until you're a mommy yourself, but you are a miracle, my dear. A true, God-given miracle.

In this day and age, people don't have a lot of faith in our heavenly Father. I'll tell you about Him one day. In fact, I've already been telling you about Him, but one day you'll really grasp His awesomeness, and I cannot wait for that! But anyways, these days, people want to see a real life miracle and to witness the marvelous things that happened back in the Old Testament days. Little do they know that the birth of every baby is a miracle in and of itself.

The fact that I heard your little heartbeat when I was only 6 weeks pregnant is a miracle. You were the size of a sweet pea--that's how you got your nickname.

The fact that you had fingers and toes when you were only a few weeks old in my tummy is a miracle.

The fact that at 15 and a half weeks pregnant, we found out you were a girl is a miracle.

The fact that at 18 weeks pregnant, I felt my first little flutter in my belly. That was you, Sweet Girl. I could feel you. Another miracle.

The fact that your eyes have been developing and your internal organs are working properly is a miracle.

The fact that I got to see each chamber of your heart and the two hemispheres of your brain on an ultrasound just a few weeks ago is a miracle.

The fact that I can literally see you moving from the outside of my belly is a miracle. And it's pretty crazy, too! Kind of alien-like :)

Precious angel, you are a miracle. I've told people that I don't understand how pregnant women don't believe in God, because this is the most incredible thing I've ever gone through. Sure, pregnancy comes with a few hiccups, worries, aches and pains, but you are worth every single one of them. Baby girl, I pray that you have restored faith in many loved one's lives, because you've restored mine and made my faith stronger in Christ. Knowing that I have been entrusted by our Father in Heaven to carry you in my tummy and get to be your mommy is absolutely incredible, and I am so thankful for that. What an honor for me. God is so good and you are my miracle baby.

Let me tell you about your daddy. He's the greatest man in the world, and I love him more than I can even express. Your Grandpa Steve, who we're hoping you'll call "Big Steve", was my hero for 21 amazing years. He was and still is the best dad in the world. But then I met Jamie. And my daddy, who I call "Dooda", handed me over to him when I was 22 years old, knowing that he was going to take care of me and be the best husband in the world, loving me unconditionally. We got married in June 2009, and that was one of the best days of my life! One day your daddy will give you away to an incredible man of God, just like my Dooda did for me, because that's what daddy's do for their little girls.

Your daddy is my best friend. My protector. My source of strength when I lose confidence. My pillow talking buddy. My giggle partner. My support. My source of encouragement. My spiritual leader. My beloved. I love him more than you know.

This may be hard to understand, but your daddy will always come first in my life, next to God. You'll want it that way, I promise. Your daddy and I will work hard on our marriage until the day we die, growing stronger and stronger together and becoming closer each day through the foundation of marriage that Christ laid out for us. We, of course, already love you more than you know, but in order for us to have a strong Christian family, we'll need to put our marriage before our children. Don't worry, though. You are already loved immensely and will never feel secondary. Just know that it is best for you if your daddy and I focus on our relationship with each other before our relationship with our babies.

Your daddy absolutely cannot wait to meet you! He's already been an incredible dad, and I have loved watching him melt when talking about you. He talks into my belly button, acting as though it is a microphone to talk to you. It's pretty cute. He rests his ear on my tummy, hoping to hear you--even though I tell him he won't hear you until those first cries when you're born. He loves feeling your kicks and wiggles, and hopes you'll even get here early! But I keep telling him that I need you to cook a little bit longer in my tummy. He assembled your crib on Saturday. It's gorgeous, and I pray you'll sleep peacefully in it. I think he probably thinks I'm a little crazy because of all of the things I've gotten for you at baby showers. You have swings, bouncers, pack-n-plays, onesies galore, booties, hair bows and headbands...little girl you've already got quite the collection of stuff! Being a girl is fun. We'll have fun being girls together :)

Let me tell you about your family. My mama, who you might call Nana Lana, is already so crazy about you! She cries when she sees baby shoes and squeals when she thinks about you. She calls you Sweet Petite. You've got a pretty precious Nana, my dear. Your Grandpa Steve--Big Steve--is really funny! Laid back, gentle, fun-loving, great listener, and has prayed for you ceaselessly even before we knew you were in my tummy. He'll probably take your picture a lot, too, because he's a professional photographer. We'll have lots and lots of pictures of you when you get here! They live in Tulsa. Your aunt Angela, my sister, is going to be an amazing aunt. She got you a pearl necktie from your Great Grandma Bonnie--it's a family inside joke that I can't wait to tell you about one day :) She is married to your Uncle Jon, and they live just three hours away from us in Houston. Hopefully they'll get to see you a lot while we live in Louisiana. They've already bought you some pretty adorable things and can't wait to meet you.

Oh yeah! You also have an older sister. Well, she's a furry sister. She's a weenie dog. I don't think she knows what's about to hit her when you come along. She pretty much has all of our attention these days, and has ever since we got married three and a half years ago, so it might take her some time to get used to you. You've probably heard her barking since you've been in my belly. She is quite the snuggle bug, so I hope she'll give you sweet snuggles too. When she gets really cuddly, she smells like tostito chips. I've called her my little tostito since she was a puppy. You'll see what I mean one day. I think once she gets used to a new little family member, she'll love you a lot. She's a pretty sweet pup.

Your daddy's parents live in Decatur, IL, but don't worry, you'll get to see them fairly often, I just know it. Your Grandpa Marty, who you might call "Chief" is pretty amazing. He's treated me like a daughter since day one. He is loving and compassionate and a very good listener. Your Grandma Kim calls you Sweet Pea and has filled your nursery to the brim with baby love. I think you have enough clothes to last until you're 5! She loves you so much and gets a little weepy when thinking about you. Happy tears, of course. You have an aunt Camie who lives in Owasso, and she loves you so much. She's always asking me how you're doing and cannot wait to meet you. She also bought you your first pair of Toms. I'll teach you about Toms shoes one day, don't you worry. You also have an uncle Kirby who lives in Hanover, NH and plays football at Dartmouth. You'll get to watch him play next year, I hope! He calls you "Squirt" and loves you a lot.

You undeniably have an outstanding family that has prayed for you on the daily. They love you so much already and will hopefully all be here when you greet the world. You're the first grandbaby, you know. That automatically makes you pretty special :)

What else do you need to know? We live in Lafayette, LA--Cajun Country. These people are the craziest, friendliest, most fun-loving and lovely people I've ever met.  Hopefully we'll live here long enough for you to eat some Cajun food, but if not, we'll come back to visit. We like it here a lot.

You don't have a name yet, but we've got a few that we really like. We'll choose your name once we see your sweet face, and we'll make sure it fits you. I love the names we have in our minds and would be happy with any of them.

Your daddy has an amazing job working as a project manager and your mommy is now an assistant manager at a gift boutique. No worries, my dear. I'll be a stay at home mommy once you come along. I can't wait to spend my days with you.

We go to a few different churches down here, because it's been tough to find our "church home" in Lafayette, but we will most definitely be raising you in a church somewhere. I want you to grow up knowing about Jesus and His unconditional love for you. It is hard for me to believe, very hard for me to believe, but Jesus loves you more than I could ever even begin to love you! Crazy, right?! One of my favorite songs that I'll teach you one day is "Jesus loves the little children", and it is a short song of truth. Jesus loves His sweet little creations--regardless of color or race or family upbringing or anything. He loves you, precious girl, and I can't wait to teach you about His amazing love.

Oh Sweet Pea. Your mommy is already so proud of you, and I want you to know that I will always be proud of you and will always love you. Things may not always be happy-go-lucky in our home, but know that your mommy and daddy will always love you no matter what! We both had amazing examples of what it means for a mom and dad to love their children, so I know we'll love you so much that it hurts!

I love you, little one. So. So. Much. Your daddy and I have prayed for you every day, even before we knew you were in my tummy. We are now praying for a healthy and safe delivery, and that you continue to grow for the next nine weeks. You've already brought us so much joy and it is hard to fathom being any more joyful once you get here. I love you, Sweet Pea. I'll see you in a few weeks.

Love,
Mommy