VBS

Dear Luke,

This past summer you participated in VBS at Second Baptist and were invited to fill an offering box you’d decorated (with trains, elephants, and rainbows) with money to donate to kids in Houston that don’t have enough food or clothes. You excitedly came home and emptied your piggy bank, counting your coins and dollars to give it all away to these kids who needed it. Another night after VBS you asked Daddy about the stories of Jesus calming the storm and healing the man who was dropped down through the roof, “Did those things really happen?” When he said yes, your eyes got really wide. I pray your wonder at God’s truth and love for you only grows and I look forward to seeing how He continues to form you into His image. I love you!

Love,

Mommy

Good Friday

Dear Luke,

This year you sat with me for our church's Good Friday service, because childcare was only available for preschool and below. I hadn't brought any activities for you, so you were just drawing with the highlighters and pens on the notepaper. I was so touched when I looked down during one of the worship songs and saw what you were writing.

This came entirely from your own heart and I felt so blessed to get a glimpse of God's work in you. One of my hopes for this year was to look for where God is doing things in your life and this was a big picture of that for me. You told me afterward that your paper was special and you wanted to keep it. When I told you I wanted to keep it, you said I could. :)

We also had some trouble a couple weeks ago when you weren't hungry for breakfast one morning. You confessed to me that you had woken up early, sneaked downstairs and climbed up in the pantry to grab the treat bag, then ate 7 treats!! You felt pretty sick to your stomach. It hadn't dawned on you that I can see your trash, so when I went upstairs I saw you'd had a granola bar, teddy grahams, a twizzler, sweet tarts... I threw away a good amount of your candy and figured your upset stomach would help you learn. Then after bedtime that night, you came out and handed me a treat you had hidden under your pillow during your adventure the previous night, planning to snack some more later. You said you didn't want to get in trouble. I told you I was so proud of you for choosing to tell the truth and hand it over!

Love,
Mommy

Birthday Letter from Daddy

Dear Luke,

I met you six years ago, and I loved you the second I saw your tiny purple feet. I watched in awe as the doctors and nurses cleaned you up, and my heart was overwhelmed with joy as I heard your cries and saw your bright blonde hair. I was moved when I said your name and you recognized my voice. 

As the Earth is filled with rivers of water that flow out of sight underground, the Lord gave me a deep well of love for you that was hidden beneath the surface for many years. Six years ago, that silent well of love became a geyser and burst into the light of day. 

I am so thankful for you, Luke. You are a joy and a treasure - a gift of God's grace to your Mom and me. I am so proud of the sweet, smart, thoughtful, fun boy that you are, and I pray that the Lord continues to draw you closer to him as you grow. I am so glad I get to be your Dad. Happy birthday, son!

Love,

Daddy

Happy 6th Birthday!

Dear Luke,

Yesterday we celebrated your 6th birthday! I heard you and Nora playing upstairs in your room around 6 in the morning, so Daddy and I came upstairs to sing Happy Birthday to you. You wanted to wear your new tshirt that says, "Mommy loves me to the moon and back," so of course I said you could! Nora had helped pick out some new train track accessories, so you opened your gift from her before school. Then we brought you McDonald's for lunch. You took mini cookies & cream cupcakes to celebrate with your friends at school. After Daddy got home from work, you opened the rest of your gifts, followed by dinner for Spirit Night at Spring Creek BBQ. You loved seeing some friends and Mrs. Moyer at the restaurant!

This is the first birthday that you are in full-time school, that we are in our new house, and that your baby book doesn't have a page for me to fill out! So, a blog post will have to do.

At 6 years old, you are learning to do so many things for yourself. When you're in the right mood, you can prepare breakfast for you and Nora, fold and put away your laundry, help unload the dishwasher, etc. You love to run around, be silly, and play PJ Masks or trains. You have been placed in the Gifted and Talented program at school (not surprisingly), are a capable reader, and love to do math problems with Grandpa. You can be very sweet and I love when your soft side shows. I told you that you made me a Mommy 6 years ago, and I'm glad you did! What a rich 6 years they've been.

Love,
Mommy

Our Final Walk-Through

Dear Luke & Nora,

Last Thursday we took our final walk-through of our first home on Parkman Grove Drive. When Daddy and I moved in 7 years ago, there were only 2 of us, and of course we are now a family of 4! You both had a lot of fun running through the empty house and saying, "where's my bed?" "where's our kitchen table?" We snapped a picture of each of you in your rooms, and Daddy and me in ours, before getting one of the 4 of us together where our table used to be.

I walked through by myself that morning after getting both of you to school, and it was interesting to consider the memories that rose to the surface. Of course the most significant treasures that came to be in that house are the 2 of you. I remember exactly where I told Daddy I was pregnant with each of you. Daddy and I talked about the countless ordinary meals our family of 4 shared around our table and the multiple baths you took in the upstairs bathroom.

The third most potent memory was Daddy's and my first conversation about starting a church, which of course is now Real Hope Community Church. Nora, you were just 1 week old, and we had just put both of you down for a nap after your newborn photography shoot that morning. I think of the years of preparation along with the growing desire to do something of eternal significance with our lives, and marvel that God had this plan all along that we get to participate in.

The word "growth" comes to mind, seeing the size of our tree in the front yard, knowing you both have grown significantly in that house, along with our church. In a less quantifiable way, Daddy and I have grown as well. We hadn't been married quite 6 years when we moved in and now we are almost to 13, acquiring a lot of lessons along the way. As I walked around the empty rooms of our home, the refrain I kept repeating was Psalm 126:3, "The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy."

When we got in the car to go, you started to cry pretty hard, Luke. Daddy took you in for another look around and you were surprised to see him get teary, too. It makes me emotional, too, but I also am so thankful for God's goodness to us in that house and for the opportunity that moving has provided for us to reflect on that. 

Love,

Mommy

Life Lately

Dear Luke,

We've had a full few months since I last wrote, with showing our house, eventually selling our house, traveling to Dallas Fort Worth for Thanksgiving and Christmas, wrapping up your first semester of elementary school, and now packing up to prepare for our move in the next couple of weeks. Here are some of my favorite highlights:

We stayed home from church one Sunday in early November because you, Nora and I were all sick with colds. We got to work on a "thankful board" and you loved thinking of things to be thankful for! In fact, you continued to add to it over the coming weeks.

Thanksgiving Break was such a fun week off from our usual routine. I thoroughly enjoyed the time with you and Nora home from school. You played really well together and loved getting to go on a trip and see family.

You and I went to see The Grinch for a special Christmas date one Saturday morning in December. Later, you told me it really put you in the Christmas spirit. :)

Daddy, Nora, and I got to join you for a fun holiday party on the last day of school. You were so happy to see us walk in the door to your classroom. Right after the party we went to our new house, having just learned that morning that the buyers accepted our counter offer!

You are a little unsure about this whole moving process, sad to be leaving Judy next door, and seem distressed by the constant mess our house has been these last few weeks. A few things you've said have revealed you think we might leave certain things here, like our couch and some of your toys. I know it's a big change, but I'm trying to reassure you it will be a good one. This has certainly been a special home and is the only one you've known. I can just see you in your carrier by the couch when we first brought you home from the hospital. So much growing up has happened since then!

Love,
Mommy