Ever since the very day I found out I was pregnant with each child, I have been writing each of them letters. All throughout my pregnancy and into every season of their lives, I have shared bits and pieces of their journey and all those amazing moments that plead to be captured in words. Written for a purpose. Shared with a passion that only a mother can do. Pure proof of each detail of their life that deserves to be recorded from their mother, and passed down to them for years to come.
I look back on these letters and I am in awe of my love and my devotion to each tiny and tremendous turn that has passed. I so easily have forgotten many of them, and I will always be grateful I dedicated so much time to dictating their journey in this world.
Many of these letters ramble on and on…
Many of these letters are filled with typos and fragments and gushy sentiments, prompted by blurry days and sleepless nights.
Many of these letters chronicle changes and turns that are a faded memory. And pages yet to be filled, are the hopes and dreams of their future.
Oh, do I hope someday they will read each one and bask in the glorious life that is their own.
I often wonder if I had letters like these from my own mother, how priceless they would be to me. I would soak in every last word and wonder in the wonder of it all. My life story, authored by the woman who brought me into the world.
I consider this the most precious gift I can give my kids. It gives me great peace knowing that they will have documentation of their lives and the valuable details of each season there for the taking. I love that in the end, I will leave behind a treasure of paper, lined with jewels and gems they will own for their keeping.
A life journal. A memoir. A mom’s diary. A love letter, written over and over again, revealing the heart of a mother and the life of a child.
I’ve never been a crafty girl. So as the days unfold through each season of my kids’ lives, I continually collect bits and pieces of memories in a basket. I fill it with pictures, artwork, report cards, tickets to shows, notes from daddy etc. When I finish a letter, I gather all of those precious items and put them in an album with the letter. I don’t “scrapbook” because I simply don’t have the patience or the delicate creative nature to do those amazing things. I simply STUFF the stuff in!! I spread it all through the pages of the album and add the letter to the last page of that season’s collection of memories. My kids have overflowing albums lined in my bookshelf, filled with highlights of each passage of time and love letters throughout.
I am reminded of the need to write their letters now, as every new school year warrants such a note. I tend to write the letters at the beginning and the end of the school years, and always around the Holidays. These are apparently the natural times of reflection and excitement of big changes and new turns. I am behind, as I haven’t written them their end of the school year letters from last May! It’s time to go through the heaping piles in my basket, sort through pictures and items that were so carefully picked and placed, and dive into the letter-writing task at hand.
It’s overwhelming.
So much to write…
I painstakingly focus on each memory and linger there a while, as I carefully place my words on paper.
This is my gift to them. And to me.
Do you write letters to your children? How do you capture their special moments?
Oh I wish I wrote more letters to them. I do have a box for each that i keep special things in and I try to fill out their baby book, let my blog be a memory keeper and my shutterfly account( i take way too many pictures) but I never write them Letters. I should really start. I did write this one to them though and I think they will love it one day http://new2two.com/?p=2978
Great job!
I LOVED that letter Kerry!!! Oh keep writing them! I think those words will be such a blessing to them in the future! Pictures are worth a THOUSAND words… truly. They will tell the story just as beautifully as your words. 🙂
What a wonderful thing to do. I’m going to do this also. Thank you for such wonderful inspiration.
Angel
Thanks so much Angel!!! I love that you do it too! Since I have started blogging, those letters are cut shorter and farther in between… I wish it wasn’t so. I need to work on them asap! Letters to our children are so different than our blog posts- that personal passion is a must!
Thanks so much for stopping by my friend. Have I told you how much I love your name?? Oh, how I do!! XO
I write my children a letter every Mother’s Day. I think it is a great gift to give them one day. Beautiful post. :)-Ashley
Oh I LOVE that you do that every Mother’s Day Ashley!! That’s just perfect. You know those letters will be cherished by your girls, what a gift! 🙂
Yes, I have a journal picked out for each child that I began the minute I knew I wanted them. I wasn’t even pregnant when they were started. I share those irrational fears, haughty dreams,regrets. Like you, some ramble, but it is just my thoughts that fill the page.
Every year we have a tradition that the night before they were born we read their birth story and the days that lead up to it. They are aloud to pick a few more pages to have read before it goes away for another year. Each year, sadly, in the business of life, I forget this tradition. The kids never do! We snuggle, I get weapy, they make fun…it is so precious.
Okay- I TOTALLY love this idea!!!! How precious is that???! I can just picture you with them reading your journals… and them asking for more- and the laughter and the tears. Oh Melissa- what a gift you are giving them!!
I am TOTALLY stealing your idea. 😉
I too have done something similar with my 3 boys…I have been writing each of them one big letter that is saved on my computer and double saved in Dropbox…i add to the letter milestones, memories, challenges and triumphs… i plan to give each of them the letter right before they go to college…I too am a bit behind so you’ve reminded me I need to catch up!
Oh that is so cool Emily!!! I love that you have that ongoing letter to them and you will give it to them when they go to college!!! Brilliant idea!! Perhaps I will give mine to my kiddos when they graduate from High School as their Graduation gift!
Keeping up with three boys must be a feat of great proportions, my friend! Good for you mama!
It means the world to me that you stopped by. I know you have a lot going on, and please know I am praying for you and your precious son.
I have a journal I keep for each kid. I wrote a few letters while I was pregnant and I tried to keep up as they were growing. I haven’t done it quite as much as I wanted to. In fact, I gave my daughter (my oldest) to her last year when she turned 22. She immediately read it. I kind of look at my blog as a letter to them now, in a way. I am able to relate life lessons and experiences and my faith. I do miss writing in the journal though.
Oh that is just so cool that you kept a journal for each kid!! I bet your daughter just cherished it when you gave it to her and she always will!
I will be sharing what I do with my blog posts another day- but I am totally with you on that! They are absolutely a beautiful piece of us and them and life that we can pass on. I love that. When we write, we share parts of ourselves and our kids through every word.
I really wish I started writing letters to my kids. I suppose it’s not too late. What a wonderful way to capture memories and show them just how much you adore them!
My guess is you have a lot of COOL pictures though, Jen! Those will always say a THOUSAND words! But definitely write them letters!! Even if it’s just once a year on their birthday or something- memorializing where they are in life. I have the WORST memory- so I try to write factual stuff down as well as all the gooey mama love! 😉
I generally don’t, but I write this blog as somewhat of a love letter to them, and I make scrapbooks for them. My mom kept me a handwritten baby journal and I read it a lot these days just to shed light on the similarities I have with baby Des. It went until I was five. Each post was written like a diary entry – not to me. It was about what I said, what I ate, when I crawled, when I walked, etc. The last few posts were written as letters directly to me after my father passed and how sad that was, and how unfair to me. And how she’d give me the best life she could. And she has!
Oh my gosh Tamara… that just broke my heart in two reading those last words. I am just SO sorry you had to go through such a horrible loss at such a young age. How precious that your mom wrote you letters when something so awful happened… and you both lost the most important man in your lives.
Oh honey, I am so glad your mom did such a beautiful job raising you and gave you the best life she could!! I bet she is so proud of you now- all your love and light shine so bright… everywhere!!
This is absolutely priceless. I should do this too! Sometimes I write about them on my blog and hopefully those things they will see and remember. And they each have baby books! I also try to make family albums with lots of journaling but none of this really takes the place of letters. So my friend, thank you for the reminder! This is such a wonderful idea!
Go for it Michelle!!! I think there is something so priceless about a mom’s letter to her children!!! BUT- you do have lots of precious and important memorabilia to give them about their lives. Those albums and baby books are definitely a beautiful gift for them to have!
Hi
Very interesting piece.
Well written piece.
Thanks for sharing this
valuable information
many quite often neglect.
Thanks again for the reminder
Phil
Thanks so much for stopping by Phil!!! Always so grateful when you do!
I appreciate the encouragement… 🙂
I don’t. But I should! I’ve written one or two to stick in their baby books. But I do scrapbook for them. So at least I’m holding on to the memories even if not necessarily writing to them about everything!
Oh I bet those scrapbooks are AMAZING Alexa!!! I have seen some pretty incredible ones that my sister has done. I am in awe of the creativity and the beautiful pictures that outline the kids’ lives in scrapbooks. Believe me- that is going to be cherished for the rest of their lives!
I think lots of your blog posts are beautiful letters in a way… Those will be treasures for them too. 🙂
I love that you do this and how you do this! Precious! I use this blog in many ways, and then every year for Valentine’s I make them their own photo album – and at the end I include a little summary of a “snapshot of their life” – fave tv shows, what they did for their bday, who their friends were, what foods they like etc. I also write them a letter – what I love about them, how they are growing, how proud I am. I then get on my husband and HE writes them a letter too. The letters get glued in the back of the book. They seem to like it – they spend some time looking at the album, but I hope one day they will cherish these as much as I do!
OKay- this is THE BEST idea EVER!!!! I just love love love it Leah!! I am so gonna steal it!
Now… I just need to figure out how to get Derek to write their letter! 😉
Brilliant. Seriously- just awesome. You are rockin’ the mom gig! XO
What an amazing gift you are giving your children. They will appreciate this more than you know.
AW… thank you SO much for your beautiful encouragement!! Oh, how I hope they really do. 🙂
Yes, I do this too! What a lovely gift for our kiddos. I too have looked back at the ones I’ve written and been amazed at how much I’ve forgotten. I didn’t do the standard baby books, but I think the letters show so much. Great reminder, Chris!
Oh I just love that you do this too Lynn!! I didn’t do the baby books I got at showers either and I vaguely remember starting one of those “school books” I got from a friend… both never happened!! I just went with the letters and cramming stuff in the pockets of the albums!
I think our kids will really love them!
What an amazing gift! I am so moved by this post. I love my Mother so much and I know she feels a certain special love for her first borne daughter. I can only imagine how I would feel reading letters she had written to me back then. I will be looking forward to adopting your practice when my time comes to join the ranks of motherhood. I think this is a lovely tradition. They will be blessed to have this to read one day!
Oh thanks SO much Joi!!! I love that you really do see the value in them!! Oh you are gonna be such a good mama someday!! Your letters will be cherished gifts, I am sure of that!! 🙂
I saw this yesterday, but I didn’t have time to comment. I love the idea of writing them letters. If you’re still around in 20 years, they might think it’s cheesy (I have boys), but if you’re not (goodness knows, awful things happen) how wonderful is it going to be for your children to “hear” your voice through your words? I know my boys love hearing stories about themselves. This is a great way to preserve that feeling!
EXACTLY Kathy!! I really have this weird peace about that- when I gasp at the thought of leaving them for some awful unforeseen death, at least I know that they will have me through my memories and words in these letters.
I am SO glad you stopped by!!! 🙂
Such a wonderful idea…I wish I had written more letters to my kids when they were younger!
Thanks so much Stacey!! I’m sure you left some wonderful things for them to cherish instead of the letters though! 🙂
Oh my goodness, Chris! What a sweet, perfect idea and I love that you have found a special way to capture these years without being crafty. We know that I am not! Love this–thanks for inspiring me to pick up the pen. xo.
Thanks SO much Meredith!! Aw, I am so glad you stopped by!! YES- DO IT! Your letters will be so beautiful, and I am sure filled with all kinds of amazing moments to capture in words!!
You can start with your latest post!! HA! “Screwing up my firstborn” is BRILLIANT!!! LOL 😉
What a great idea. I havent written letters to my children, but I have journaled different events as it occured in their lives and wrote my feelings about it. I capture their memories mostly through pictures. Then putting them in a photobook. I take videos too but I need to organize them. I definitely think I’ll start writing letters.
Oh those are all such great things to do Hope!! It’s so hard to track it all and organize their lives to memorialize all the while just muddling through the present day stuff, isn’t it? Gosh- I just put their stuff in piles and write letters and I can’t find the time!!!
It’s worth it though. Everything and anything we do will be treasured by them someday!!
This is a wonderful tradition! I need to start writing my son letters. Maybe I will do it at the end of each school year.
The beauty of your blog is that you have actually been documenting so much cool stuff with JDaniel- that those can also be your “letters”!!!
Oh yes start writing his letters through each school year!! What a perfect time to do that!! It will be therapeutic for you too, mama! I do pray you are adjusting okay without him home all the time!!! Oh, how I know how hard that change can be…
What a lovely idea! I wish that I’d thought to do that. I did blog a little when my little boy was born, but I flaked out of that early on (PND) and I’d have to go and look at photos to tell you when he started to walk… On the plus side, I do tell him lots of stories about when he was little…
Well that is GREAT that you remember those stories!!! You see, I totally don’t! HA! Now- you go and write those stories down now before you get old like me and forget them Angela!! LOL 😉
And you can go from there!
(SO glad you stopped by!!)
Hi Chris!
This is such a lovely post. Wonderful idea. Its a simple way to show your children how much you love them and something they can cherish forever.
I came across your blog via “My Favorite Posts Showoff”. Following you through G+, Bloglovin, and Twitter. I am looking forward to reading more.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Bismah @
http://simplemamaathome.blogspot.com/
Oh, Bismah it is SO nice to meet you!! I am thrilled that you stopped by, my new friend!!
I do love that my kids will always have these letters… I think they add that personal and ‘mama-love’ touch to their stuffed albums!
I love your pell mell scrap book ending w/ a letter. Be glad you’re not crafty or feel incline to make their scrapbooks all fancy…it’s time consuming and stressful and expensive. Someday your kids are going to cherish this!
My sister scrapbooks and boy oh boy is it every time consuming and expensive!! I could never do it- I am just too sloppy and NOT detail oriented!! But oh my… her scrapbooks are BREATHTAKING!!!!! I have a good feeling yours are too, Stephanie!!! 😉
Dang…you are an amazing mom. Your kids are so lucky! What a gift you are giving them. Thanks for sharing.
Aw thanks so much Andrea!!! Not sure about that- but at least they will get some ramblings from me a whole lotta love!!! 😉
What an awesome idea Chris! You’ve left them a beautiful legacy my friend! Your children will cherish them even more when they’re adults! Oh, how I wish I had letters from my mom and how I wish I had done that for our kids! I’ll just have to do this for my grand kids, lol! I was just commenting on someone’s post about how our daughter came over a few weeks ago and we all gathered around the kitchen table to catch up. To their surprise, I pulled out a suitcase filled with items from their childhood(their first book bags, their Kindergarten cap and gown, their first bibs), etc. I even have the clothes they wore in pictures when they were infants, toddlers and school-aged. They got a real kick looking at the pictures on the bookshelves and holding the actual clothes in their hands, lol! They were blown away. Can you imagine a teenager and two 20 something year olds acting like little kids opening Christmas presents. It was priceless!! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful idea Chris and thanks for linking up! Have a great week!
This is something I have been wanting to do. And should start!
{Melinda} I love this! I do something similar with my daughter. I have a journal that I write things in from time to time. Thoughts about life, my love for her, good things I’m seeing in her, etc. I’ve been doing this since 7th grade. Lots of good stuff in there for her to look back on. 🙂 Wish I’d started earlier!
Oh I bet she is going to TREASURE that journal Melinda!! Those years are the most critical, I think- when it comes to a mother’s love and wisdom. She will cherish your thoughts about her and it will be such a beautiful gift someday. 🙂
What a precious idea! Unfortunately my boys are now young adults but I need to do this for any future grandchildren. Thanks for linking up at My Favorite Posts Show Off Weekend Party!
Michelle @ On A Wing And A Prayer
Thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to stop by Michelle!! What a great idea to do it with your “future” grandchildren!! Brilliant! 🙂
This is amazing, Christine! It’s really the best gift a mother could give her children.
I’ve read some of the old letters when my kids were babies, ohmyword I am SO cheesy!!! The way I swoon on their little ways… I am glad I captured those moments, even though I seem like a crazy mom! They’ll get it… they know me. 🙂
With my oldest, I wrote her a letter every month during the first year. I was just thinking the other day that I need to pick up on writing letters again. Such a treasure. I have one from my Mom that she wrote me. Such a great reminder when the relationship might get tumultuous too to remember that you truly do love each other!
That is why I started writing them letters! I always wondered what my mom was going through and how I was during the timeline of my childhood that I cannot remember… I wanted to document their lives for them to learn and see what they lived in their young years! I got nothing. 😉
I need to do this again. I used to write my son letters daily. And now? Ugh. Social Media. Thank you for the reminder.
Daily? Oh bless your mama heart!! I know all too well, about dropping the letters… stepping in place of them? BLOGGING. I have started printing off some of my posts and putting THEM in a scrapbook for my kids to read someday. The ones I want them to read. I could see you doing that for your Tucker! All of your love letters are right on your blog, my dear. <3
I do this yearly during their birthdays but now I wish I did it more often. Such a lovely gift for your kids!
I hope my kids actually read them someday!! And I have a few years of catch up work to do… I swear my letters have taken second to my blog. I really need to shift my priorities!! Sigh… But I am hoping that much of my blog content poses as letters or at least parts of their mom and their lives, worth saving.