Sophia turns 12

 

My Dearest Sophia,

Happy 12th Birthday! It feels like just yesterday you were a tiny little thing, and now look at you – almost a teenager! This past year, your 6th grade year, has been such a joy to watch. It's been so awesome to see you thrive. Theater, band, and 3D printing club are just a few of the areas where you have gotten involved.

Your friendships continue to be such an important part of your life. You are thoughtful, remain a great gift giver, and love any adventure to shop for food, gifts, or clothes. You also have been stepping up your cooking game this year in the kitchen by routinely making some of the dinners. And your help taking care of, and connection with, our 17 month old foster placement has been an encouragement to us.

Your involvement in the Delta Youth group has been really fun. It's clear that you're growing in your faith, and it’s great that you have started to ask so many good questions.

As you step into being 12, I hope you continue to embrace all these wonderful parts of yourself. I hope you keep on not putting all of your attention to what others think of you – that confidence and self-assurance you've developed will serve you well. This will become more challenging as you get older with others trying to ascribe a particular wardrobe or behaviors to fit in a box that was never meant for you. My prayer is that you will continue to shine brightly in the one of a kind way that God designed you.

I am so incredibly proud of the young woman you are becoming- your kindness, helpfulness, thoughtfulness, and curiosity. I can't wait to see all the adventures this summer brings as well as next school year.

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl!

Love,

Dad

Happy 6th Birthday Jayden!

 

My Dearest Jayden,

Happy sixth birthday, superhero! Six years of spins, tumbles, and incredible adventures!

The other day when I was doing laundry, I was admiring your large collection of

spiderman themed clothes you have collected.

Your love for Spiderman and all things superhero runs deep. And now, you have super-

powered vision with your new glasses (even if you don’t see it that way yet and often

take them off)!

It's wonderful to see your intense friendship with Malcolm in your kindergarten class.

You two are a dynamic duo, always running up to each other every morning like you

have not seen each other for weeks. Your teacher says you have often act like siblings

in class.

More recently we have been working to tackle big emotions. This year, we’re praying

that you’ll continue to develop tools to handle those big emotions, just like a superhero

learns to control their powers.

We also hope that this year is filled with lots and lots of laughter. Your laughter is

contagious, and it brings so much joy to everyone around you.

Love,

Dad

Happy 6th Birthday Jayda!

 

My Dearest Jayda Joy,

Happy, happy sixth birthday! Can you believe it? Six whole years of your bright, shining

smile filling our lives with joy. Just like your beloved unicorns, you bring energy and a

sparkling smile wherever you go.

Whether you're leaping, dancing, or running around in your pink rain boots no matter the

weather, you seem to be trying to suck all of the emotions and experience out of every

moment.

You want to feel your food, paint all the colors, try one of each, and only speak with an

outside voice at all times, because life is so exciting.

This year as you are learning the basics of reading in kindergarten, you want to get it

perfect right away. It's okay to take your time and trust your brain to figure things out,

even if it takes a few tries.

We’re praying that this year, you’ll grow even more confident in the classroom. Your

ideas are amazing, and we can’t wait to see all the incredible things you’ll learn. We’re

also praying that you’ll continue to be a wonderful friend, someone who is flexible and

kind. Sometimes, plans change, and being able to invite others to play, even when

things don’t go exactly as expected, will make your friendships even stronger.

We love you more than words can say!

Love,

Dada

Jason's 9th Birthday Letter

 

Dearest Jason,

As you embark on your tenth year of life, we have loved to see you continue to grow this past year. You are often filled with the sweetness of your spirit and the boundless enthusiasm for the world around you.

Your love for games grew this year to include Monopoly, Clue, Scattergories, Guess Who, and card games. I enjoyed many evening rounds of the “Ladybug” game before bed, and I am sure your birthday gift of Trash Pandas will be the new favorite. We often find you reading a graphic novel on the couch in your underwear. You want to bring your soccer ball with you on most walks these days. And you've been checking books out at the library on Lego building.

You remain a man in charge as you still aspire to be a police officer one day, and sometimes that comes out in ways today as trying to parent, but also keep your siblings safe. One of your questions to adults this year was if they owned a pair of handcuffs or not.

We pray you will be a man after justice and fairness, as you pursue the higher goal of wisdom in each interaction you have with people inside and out of our home.

You got your first passport this year, and very much enjoyed our trip to Paris. You walked 43,000 steps or 17 miles one day, as you often circled your parents while we walked in a straight line.

You have one of the best subtle smiles that can warm anyone’s heart when it emerges, and we pray you will continue to be a joy giver this year.

Our goals for you this year are to grow into a protector at school, a good friend to many, and one who deepens in their faith.

Happy birthday, Jason! We love you.

Dad 

Sophia's 11th Birthday Letter

Dear Sophia,

As you turn 11, people are commenting more often to us how grown up you are becoming. You want to be part of most adult conversations, at least listening in to them, and often chime in with comments or questions. We hope your willingness to engage in meaningful conversations only grows as you enter your teens. So many of your peers will turn to technology for connection, we hope you lean into healthy and life giving personal relationships that help you to think deeply about what matters in life.

At the same time your mom and I have loved to see you continue to engage with your younger siblings, and friends in imaginative play. We pray that you hold onto a thread of that playfulness and creativity as it will serve you well in life, and make you a stellar babysitter in the near future. You have had two great examples for babysitters on that front this year with Rachel and Halle.

We have been so grateful for the girls Bible study that you joined this year, and the fun (and sometimes silly) relationships you have developed with those girls. We can’t wait to watch those relationships grow in this coming year.

This year has been filled with many lasts at Bernazzani as you wrap up 5^th grade, and we have been grateful for Ms. Caldwell being your teacher, coming full circle as she is one of the daughters of the CKH preschool Director that you had when you started going to school.

You continued the flute this year, sang in the kids choir, and joined a hip hop class. It is sounding like the transition to middle school may introduce a number of different clubs and activities, and we hope that you find your groove in some of these new adventures.

This year we pray that you find your footing quickly in middle school, that you don’t get caught up in any of the friend drama, and can be a peaceful and kind friend to many. That you live into continuing to build your faith and focus on healthy relationships with a long term view of developing yourself and focusing on issues that matter to you and our family, instead of what you are told you should care about.

We love you, and look forward to living alongside you this coming year.

Love,

Dad

 

Little J-Man Turns 5!

Dear J-Man,

Happy 5th Birthday! Does this make you a BIG kid? 

You love bouncing off the walls, just like your favorite superhero, Spider-Man. When we asked you what you wanted for your birthday, every single item you listed was somehow connected to Spider-Man, and you want to add Peter to your full name to pay homage to your love for him.

This year has been one of growth, maybe not as much as your doctors want in terms of

your weight, but it may be because you are too busy running around the house in your Spider-Man costume. Yet you are all too happy to take your mother up on the offer to be picked up in her arms, or to ride on my shoulders whenever possible.

Your favorite activities involve building with Legos, Magnatiles, and running around

and wrestling with Jason. You are full of funny catchphrases; for example, when I ask you to finish your dinner, you will often remark, “Nope, not today!” And you call bedtime story time “Book time, oh yeah!”

You have given your stuffed animals creative names like Noodles, Marley, Marty, Pasghetti, Burrito, Alex, Miko, Spots, Kitty-witty, Ketchup, and Loophole. 

Your mother and I both love your sly grin and the twinkle in your eye, and can’t get enough

of your snuggles. Your love for last year's CKH teacher, Ms. Lexi, endures as you must

find her first thing every morning to give her a hug or at least check in with her.

We will be praying for you this year that you continue to have such enthusiasm when

you see your friends at school, that we can work with you to continue to work on self-

control, and to express your emotions in words. You are as brave as a

superhero to look out for those who need a protector.

Keep being curious, keep being silly, and keep being the awesome little guy that

everyone loves.

I can't wait to see what amazing adventures this year holds!

Love,

Daddy

 

J-girl turns 5!

Dearest J-Girl,

All five fingers this year! 

It feels like just yesterday, you and your brother entered our house as tiny peanuts, filling our home with bottle after bottle and baby gear. You have kept your very bright smile, and just added some long legs that you use to run almost everywhere as you are now wearing size 6 clothes.

My mental picture for this past year as I come down the stairs in the morning is of you

wrapped in your beloved rainbow blanket, running out of the kitchen licking your fingers

after sticking them into whatever is on the kitchen counter, with your hair sticking up as

it is not yet braided for the day, running across the living room as you launch yourself up

onto the couch with a huge grin on your face.

You remain the best eater in the house, and I pray that your love for food continues to

grow and can be an area of connection for you, me and your mom in future years.

Watching you shovel your fourth serving of dinner most nights, reminds us to appreciate

the simple pleasures in life.

You see every puddle as something to hurdle over, or jump into, regardless of your boot

status. We love seeing your independence grow, the way you race ahead with a

determined glint in your eye. And I love when we take family walks in the woods so you

can run ahead.

This year at CKH, you have loved having Ms. Mary as your teacher, and we are grateful

for the teachers who have loved you well there during our final year of many. Ms. Mary has said you are a joy to have in class, even if you and a few of your friends need a reminder to give each other space some days.

As you celebrate this birthday, we will be praying that your curiosity continues to

blossom and that you ask tons of questions and explore the world. That you continue to

work on being a good friend to those around you, and pray for some role models in your

life that will be on Team J-Girl.

Most of all, we pray for you to always know just how loved you are. 

You bring sunshine to our family, and we can't wait to see all the amazing things you accomplish in this next year.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Love,

Daddy