letter to iris

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Dearest Iris,

Happy new year baby girl! It's now 2011, can you believe it!? You slept right through all the hoop-lah last night. All the neighbors were having a ball bringing in the new year. Fireworks going off every few minutes. And you snoozing..

As I bid farewell to 2010, I am reflecting on this past year and all the transformations you've gone through. This baby blog is where I try to capture all your special moments. But I am also reflecting on all the transformations I've gone through, which I don't normally document here.

But today I want to share with you the hope that you've brought into my life, and the hope I continue to carry with me into the new year.

Three years ago I entered the new year with great sadness and great loss. So much had been taken from me, and when I didn't think I could take any more loss, I lost more. It was a daily struggle to find hope & I often thought I couldn't take much more. It seemed to me that life had transformed into a world of despair and tears.

And then something happened that I never could have planned. Your little spirit found mine.

I was given the gift of hope and love. And like a flower that finds itself fiercely growing through the cracks on the sidewalk, you fiercely made your way into my broken world. And with you, you brought all the sunshine and happiness that your little heart could hold. And I'm learning that your little heart is as big as the sky.

As you came into my life, more losses came...but somehow I could face those losses with colors and shades of hope instead of sadness. Looking back, everything has been paved with sidewalk cracks and little flowers.

Baby girl, you were truly sent to me. You saved me. I do my best each day to show my gratitude to you & to fill your days with the same happiness you bring me.

So with the whole big year of 2011 right before us, I am absolutely thrilled and excited to see what this year brings. Will it be as adventuresome as 2010? What will unfold? What will we learn? And as excited as I am about the future, I am firmly planted in the present, cherishing each moment with you. This is another gift you've given me: enjoying being in the moment.

I know only too well how quickly it slips by.

So bring on 2011! A big toast to those cracks and those fierce little flowers. To my beautiful Iris!

Love you forever,

Momma

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