dear adele,

{found via pinterest from yarning made}

well baby girl, in less than a week i'll be holding you in my arms. it's kind of funny to think about holding you for the "first" time when i've been carrying you around for the past 9 or 10 months, but life has many ironies. you'll learn about them soon enough.

i cannot believe we're as close as we are to meeting you. in many ways time has flown, though admittedly december 21, 2013 feels like a very long time ago now. but you're almost here. i need you to stay put until your scheduled arrival date though, okay? none of this coming early stuff. your brother didn't have a problem staying snug as a bug in a rug, and it would be very helpful if you followed suit.

i hate that i haven't taken as much time to write to you over the course of my pregnancy with you. of course while i carried your brother we weren't moving houses, and i didn't have another child to chase around all the time, but please know that just because there isn't as much documentation of your pregnancy it doesn't mean we love you less, or that you're less wanted than him.

please know that we are immensely grateful for the blessing you are. please know that we love you always - no matter what. know that while we may have certain expectations of your character, we want you to be yourself. we want you to be the person God created you to be. we look forward to getting to know you and learning who that person is. we look forward to watching the way the Lord will shape you and grow you and teach you. know that no matter what, you were created in the image of God and you have value.
you have unbelievable worth.

if anyone ever tells you differently know that he/she is lying to your face. no one can take that worth away from you. no one. no matter what happens.

i won't lie to you and tell you that this life holds only wonderful things. times will be hard. there will be pain, and tough roads to walk, and heartache. but the struggles make you stronger. they still aren't fun, and knowing this probably won't make it a whole lot easier to go through them. nonetheless it is true, and you need to know that it's true.

there are so many things i want to tell you now and show you now and explain to you so they don't hurt you as much when they happen. i don't want you to hurt. unfortunately i won't be able to protect you from everything. you will get hurt at some point. trying to protect you completely from hurt will not end up making you a better, stronger person, but just the opposite. and i don't want to cause you more pain by trying not to allow any into your world.

when it does happen though, please know that your dad & i are always here for you. we love you so much, and will do what we can to comfort you. i know over the course of your life there will be times when you feel so very alone. please know you are never alone. even when you have to walk a certain path on your own, you are never alone.

i wish i could catalogue all of my mistakes for you and explain them in a way that would allow you to learn from them, but not have to make them yourself. i know that cannot and will not happen though. so, let me just share a couple things with you:
don't expect anyone else to define you. God created you and knows you inside and out. no other person can live up to that.
when the time comes for you to date - don't date jerks. no matter how cute he is, the decision to date a jerk will come back to bite you in the long-run.
marry someone whose character you love. people change. character remains.
don't be a know-it-all. no matter how much you know, there's always more to learn.
remember to be kind. everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.

i could go on for a long time, but i'll just end with this... please know that we will mess up as your parents. we are messed up, broken, imperfect people. so, in light of that, please know that we always always always want what is best for you. even when it's hard. even when it hurts. even when it means that you don't like us very much for a little while. we will always want what's best for you.

i love you adele jane.

xoxo,

your mama