from there to here...

One year. We made it!

You are growing so fast, and there is nothing I can do to stop it (no really, I've looked into it ;-)). You will always be my baby.

i love you to the moon and back.

my curly head

To the curls that lay upon my babe's head,

I love to run my fingers through your little loops. I hope that you will forever stay on his head. I get requests to trim this little boy's hair at times, but I don't have the heart to, and I do not think that I will for a very long time. My fingers would miss you at bedtime ;-)

Love always,
Mama

Letters to Josephine

"I asked God for you. When your Daddy and I decided we wanted to have another baby, I spent many hours imagining you. I asked God for someone who wanted to join our lives; A child with a sense of adventure, a big personality, and an even bigger heart, someone who knew who she was and what she wanted out of life, a love of learning and change, someone who would live life joyfully. This seemed a lot to ask for, but I also really wanted a GIRL with RED hair and freckles. So I asked for that too."

Every year on Jojo's birthday, I fill a page with words for her; a small picture of who she is, descriptions of what we've experienced together, my hopes and dreams for her, and my worries. Sometimes the words come quickly, and I fill the paper with fixed images of my quickly changing daughter. Other years I need to sit a while, catch my breath and try to recall the sound of her emerging voice.

The letters are a promise and commitment- to both of us. While I write them I often imagine Josephine as a young woman, a box of letters on her lap, a soft light falling on her. The scene is unhurried as she reads each letter slowly. She reads them, looking for images that connect her back to her earlier self.
Writing to her gives me a chance to connect with what it means to be a mother. Too often, our days of parenting slip by without acknowledgement and we trust our memories to cameras, scrapbooks, and recorders. When I write my memories on paper, I capture more than just an image; I capture the shape and texture of my love for a little girl with red hair and freckles that emerge in the summertime.