Sometime last year I came across a blog posts about writing a letter to your children every year for their birthday. I LOVED this idea! I am proud to say that I have so far stayed on top of this task and completed Naomi's letter just after her 1st birthday, and Isaiah's letter for this year is already done! He turns 3 on September 11th! Yikes!!! Last year was the hardest letter to write. I went back and did 2 years worth to cover his 1st and 2nd birthdays. It was difficult but not impossible. I want to encourage everyone of you to start writing to your kids. You may want to write a yearly birthday letter like I do, perhaps you prefer a daily/weekly journal entry (that would be easier on my memory), or you may want to write whenever you feel compelled to do so. The point is, it doesn't matter how you do, but PLEASE do it!! I started a binder for each kid. The front cover is a picture of them on their 1st birthday. Then, on the inside, I chose to hand write my letters because to me it would be more special. I then slid each page into a page protector to keep everything in perfect shape.
So what do you write about? How long do you make it? Pictures included? These are thoughts that are going to run through your head as you are thinking about how to begin each letter. And as you are writing it will seem like you have too much, but remember that when your children are older they will have this special gift to look back at and you will never regret writing "too much." My letter this year is 5 pages! I start my letters out differently. The very first year for each child, I explained what this whole thing was. This year, I explained that I had to write with a blue (bew) pen because it is my son's favorite color. Everything has to be blue! I write about memories like this that I don't ever want to forget. I also keep a scrap piece of paper in the front pocket of the binder so as funny things happen or when a Sunday School teacher tells me about how wonderful Isaiah is in class, I can write those memories down immediately. I haven't included any extra pictures yet but I am thinking about making yearly cover pages with a few of my favorite photos of them at that age. I write about funny memories, things they have said or done over the past year, vacations, holidays, and etc. But one of my favorite things to write about is what I call the "Isaiah is" section. I spend time saying things like Isaiah is funny, he is smart, he loves to play with his tractors, trucks, and trains. Isaiah is a great helper to mommy. He helps me clean up, do dishes, cook, take the dirty diapers, and play with Naomi. He is a wonderful big brother!
Here is one of my favorite memories that I included in the letter this year:
One Sunday afternoon, daddy and I told you it was time to take a nap. We were going to be seeing Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Shelly, Uncle Tim, and Annabelle later on so you need to rest. You went to your room to "hide from Annbell" and everything was quiet as usual. About an hour later (he usually naps for 2-3 hours) daddy and I hear a strange sound coming down the hallway. When we looked up, we saw you standing there with sunglasses on, carrying your magnetic letter bag, and dragging your magnetic cookie tray behind you. We started laughing so hard! You just looked at us and said, "I all done hiding from Annbell. I go see them now." We had to control our laughter and tell you it was time to get back in your bed and take a nap. It was so cute and innocent. You were so excited to see everyone you just couldn't sleep!
It's moments like this that I never want to forget, but I know that I will. That's why I am so intent on completing these letters every year! I plan to write these letters until they are 18 and give it to them as a high school graduation gift. Wish me luck on keeping up with this task! It's never too late to start this! Even if you don't go back to their first year of life, just start where you can. Start writing to them. It really helps on days when you are so worn down and frustrated to have those sweet memories to go back and remind you that they are wonderful babies and a true blessing from God!
And remember if I can do it you can too!!!
