Last of the love letters.

Thanks for indulging me and allowing me the privilege of sharing these letters I wrote to Levi before he was born. These are the final two letters, but I do plan on writing him many more love letters over the years to come!

July 7th, 2007
Dear Bean,
We saw you for the first time the other day. What an amazing sight. You were even waving at us it looked like. 2 perfect arms, a body and a head w/a very good heartbeat. Seeing you for the first time made it so real that you will soon enter into our lives and make our family grow. We are so excited for that day and a little nervous too since we aren’t entirely sure what to do when to do it. We will figure it out together. I am sure we will make mistakes, but just know how much we love you and are anticipating your arrival. Your dad said he could have stared at the monitor all day...how is that for approval? You also received your 1st book the other day I can’t even imagine how many stories we will read together over the years. I hope you love reading as much as I do.
Xoxo-Mom


Sept. 3rd, 2007
Dear Bean,
Wow, so much time has passed since we first found out about your arrival. We are already in the 5th month. We have also found out that you are a boy:) So, I guess this means from now on I will drop the bean and call you by the name we have decided on for you: Levi.
So many people have been getting ready for January. We have had some generous people sending you packages for months...especially grandma sue. She is so excited she has sent you many outfits so far.
Your dad and I are so blessed to know that you are healthy and whole and so beautiful. We have started feeling you move about and sometimes it feels like you are training for gymnastics for all the moving you do. I am looking forward to having you as a son seeing how you take after your dad and grow into an amazing man.
XoXo~Mom

I had kind of a mentally exhausting day today so I thought the best way to combat that would be to get out & do some physical labor after Levi went to bed..I mowed, edged, weeded and then some. As I was mowing I was getting bitten by bugs, walking thru spider webs and getting attacked by tree limbs & I thought to myself how fortunate I am to have a yard to mow. Seriously~ so often I forget that people in many other countries have no home to call their own. They have no roof to leak, no weeds to pull and no shelf to dust. But, I have to imagine if given the opportunity they would love to have those "dilemmas" to sort out. I am not referring to the people whom have made a choice to live simply & prefer to rent vs. own...I am thinking more of the people who were born in a country different then mine. They may be in a land where there is little or no education available, no resources, no work, no skills, no clean water, no food, no family and it is not by any fault of their own that they are in the circumstances they are in just like it isn't any doing of my own that I was born in the USA land of free & plenty. I have never viewed myself as someone overly patriotic, but I do feel so blessed to have been fortunate enough to have been born in a country where freedom is not something just dreamed about, where as a woman I am able to do so much without ever having to hide my face or turn my eyes downward, where I can turn on any number of taps in my house and get instant clean cold or warm water, where people are able to decide if they would like to go to a community college, a four-year college or maybe go to a technical school to learn a valuable trade, where there are grocery stores on every street & the biggest food dilemma is to go to Costco or Trader Joes, where people can make a fresh start, new opportunities, health care, medicine, follow Jesus & read a Bible with out being beaten or jailed or murdered, and even vote for whom they think would serve the country best. I guess I am just kind of tired of it being "uncool" to be proud to be an American....we have it so easy, we take so much for granted, and we have so many people that came before us that made it all possible. Having all of this running through my mind tonight made it very difficult to find any reason to complain about the yard work I was doing & I am praying it stays as a fresh reminder so I will have patience on the road, in the stores, and with those I love.

Giddiness.

How does your garden grow?

Anyone can become a gardener. That is what my Gardening For Dummies book promises on page 1 chapter 1. We will just have to wait and see whether they are being completely truthful or not I mean the book is for dummies right? One of my first blog posts was about small steps and how I was going to try this whole vegetable garden thing out in a very small doable manner even though I wasn't blessed with the green thumb that others in my family have been blessed with.

The garden is in, the seeds have been sown, and the anticipation has begun. I look forward to what will come of it this first year, I am not overly optimistic, but if I end up eating a lot of homegrown carrots, beans and zucchini that would definitely be okay with me.

On another note maybe it would be okay if the garden turned out to be a bust. I mean seriously does my baby look like he needs more to eat?

Another Love Letter.

June 15th 2007
Dear Bean,
Well we are at nine weeks now and only a few weeks to go until we get to go to the doctor and learn more about you. It is hard not to already be attached to you. Even though I can’t feel you I know you are there growing and developing into the little person you will be. Right now you are about the size of a grape, but for some reason we still prefer Bean to Grape!
I have thought I was tired before, but nothing compares to the exhaustion I am feeling now. I wake up tired even after 10+ hours sleep. You may never believe this, but I used to be quite the night owl, but now I go to bed almost as soon as your dad and I are done eating dinner. "They" say this should only last a little longer then I will morph into a glowing, energetic, pregnant lady, but for now it is important that I get a lot of rest, and I mean a lot, to ensure you have all the energy you need to get things done. I would’t have it any other way.
Xoxo~Mom

Stop.Sit.See.

Our house has been involved in some sort of sickness whether it be the flu, colds or food poisoning for the past couple of weeks and just today I awoke feeling much more like myself. Waking from my stupor I realized that levi is becoming more and more of his own person and he is a Great person! He is becoming a little sponge starting to repeat every word we say, he loves making animal noises, he is developing a new laugh, he gets onto furniture by himself, he runs, he is becoming very sure of what he does and does not want (we were told that he was the only child who has refused a sticker at trader joes), he loves the outdoors, he is delighted by reading books which is a good thing since both of his parents are avid readers, and he enjoying spending time with people-watching people, interacting with people and laughing with people.

This time is so precious it seems that if we let life carry us along, being involved in the daily routine, it is quite possible that we may miss something. Sometimes I need to just stop, sit, and see this amazing boy before me.

Love Letters Cont.

May 28th 2007
Dear Bean,
Today I was a little woozy after eating dinner...I wonder if you will like tater tots? I think that was what did it. But, then we went on a walk, I am going to try and remain active and offer you the best of food, rest, and nutrition so that you will arrive feeling healthy and whole.
We haven’t really talked about names for you,I think we will more so later on, and once we know if you are a boy or girl we will constantly. I’m afraid you are stuck w/Bean for now...I have a feeling that might just stick for when you are older too:) I thank God for you and hope that we can raise you in His light and that you will Love Him and realize how much He loves You! More so than your dad or I ever could.
Xoxo~Mom