Leah

Leah

May 2013

Dear Leah Rae, 

My sweet girl, do you know how much I love you? I love you more than words could ever express. When I tuck you in at night, sometimes you tell me, "I love you to the moon and back times infinity!" Leah, that's how much I love you too. Some days you just need to be reminded about that!

Have I ever told you where your name comes from? Well, before we knew you were a twin, we had picked out the name Hannah. But when we discovered that two girls were on the way, we got to pick another name! Bonus!! Daddy and I wanted to stick with another Hebrew name and he suggested Leah. I loved it right away. It so feminine and beautiful. And your middle name, "Rae" is from Daddy's sister, Rachel (your Auntie Rae!). Rachel is an amazing woman, strong and faithful. You are named after an amazing person, young lady!

Your favorite Bible story is of Leah and Rachel. As you know, Jacob loved Rachel more, but was tricked into marrying Leah first. Leah was sad. She wanted to be loved. And God heard her cries because he granted her many healthy children. One of them, Judah, grew up and had lots of kids who had kids who had kids.....and one of those kids was King David. And many kids after David, came Jesus-- the King of Kings. That means, God used Leah in an amazing family tree. She was special to Him, just as you are. And God has many wonderful things planned for your life too!

You are such a tenderhearted little girl. You care deeply for others and are so friendly to everyone you meet. You don't flinch just because someone is different from you, you love fully and that makes me very proud of you. Every single one of your teachers has described you as "easy going" or "go with the flow." Your first grade teacher said she could put you in a group with anyone and count on you to get along. You love to draw, read, and and play outside. You also love gymnastics and are excited to be in the "big shots class" this fall! Your favorite thing to do on a rainy day is to get out all of my crafting supplies and get busy making things. If I can't remember a detail about something, you can usually help me out because you have an amazing memory. You will recall things that I had long forgotten about. You are a real big help with Lucas. You are patient with him and are quick to help him. Oh how I appreciate that!

When Grandma was alive, you called her your "best buddy." When she died, you were very, very sad. You had a lot of questions about death and it caused you to worry a lot. I was worried about you too. For awhile you couldn't sleep and were fearful of Daddy or me dying. We worked with you and prayed with you and you have come such a long way since then. I am proud of you. Now we can talk about our favorite memories with Grandma and remember her with smiles on our faces. :)

Baby A, you came into this world a small little 4 pound and 10 ounce tiny girl, but you have grown. You have grow into a beautiful little girl-- inside and out.