Baby girl, you hold my heart. I love you more than I knew was possible. You've given my life so much meaning. You bring so much joy to your dad and myself and we love being a family.

We took you last night to Dad's missionary reunion. We love to show you off. This is the second time I meet president and sister Evans, both times they have raved about your humble dad as a missionary. From their testimonies I know that your Dad was a missionary who gave 110%. I've always known that, but it's beautiful to hear their reassurance in realizing that they are still touched by his example and dedicated service 2 years later. Nora,I love your dad so much. I hope you always see the love we have for each other and how happy you too will be one day if you marry an obedient, service-oriented, compassionate, and caring young man. Our Father in Heaven could not have sent me a more perfect husband. And now luckily, we have a perfect daughter to share our joys and happiness with. Thank you for coming to us and making or lives complete. We love you Nora Grace.

Love,
Mom

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Baby Nora,

Your birthday finally came!  I can't put into words all of the emotions I felt on September 17th, 2012.  You are the most precious, heaven-sent angel I have ever met.  Your Daddy and I are so thrilled to have you here and we love you more than words can say.  My heart is so full of pure joy and pride whenever I look at you and remember that you are my little girl.  That Heavenly Father sent you to me and trusted me as your earth Mom.  Bringing you to this worls was such a surreal experience.  I felt like Superwoman in the delivery room.  And as soon as you arrived, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with love, pride, and satisfaction.  Labor and delivery was such a hard thing, but it was the most worthwhile day of my life.  In those moments my life immediately changed from selfish to selfless.  You were my new focus and my whole new life.  We're so blessed to have such a perfect angel in our family.  We love you Nora and we are so thankful you are here and healthy, but mostly, we are so happy that you are ours.  Everyone loves you and your spirit is already captivating.  I love spending my days with you and I love taking care of you.  Life is so good.  Thank you for your company.  You are completely worth the 9 months of sickness and pain and the changes to my body.  I love you sweet girl and I always will.

Love your Momma

 

The Last Stretch

Sweet Baby Girl, your due date is drawing near! We have 2.5 weeks left, but your Daddy and I are hoping that you come sooner.  I want as much time to recover as possible before we head to California for Uncle Chris' farewell. 

I am so glad to have your Daddy back.  Things have been so wonderful since he has been home.  We have always had such a strong relationship, but his 4 weeks away just made it even stronger.  I am so lucky to have him as a husband and you are going to be SO lucky to have him as a Daddy.  His Dad, Grandpa Boyd, gave him a blessing the other day and he was told that he would be a very helpful Daddy.  That makes me smile and thankful for such a willing, loving, and dedicated husband and Daddy.  I want you to know how important it is to marry somebody who houses these same characteristics one day. 

I love you so much, and I know it's only going to double when I finally get to meet you.  I can't believe we have been together for over 9 months now.  I feel so close to you spiritually.  My heart swells when I think about holding you for the first time and seeing your beautiful face.  Your Dad and I feel so blessed.  There are so many people who want to bring children to this earth but are unable.  We constantly thank our Heavenly Father for giving you to us.  It's such a beautiful miracle to have a daughter who is part of the both of us.  We are a true eternal family.  We are so excited to meet you Nora.  I can't wait to be your Mom and I hope that I do a good job.  I hope that you can be proud of me, I hope that your Dad will be proud of me as a wife and mother and I also hope that our Heavenly Father will be proud of me as your earthly mother.  I know that I will need his help every single day though, to be the kind of Mother that he would have me be. 

Things have been kind of hard for Mom the last few weeks.  I haven't slept well for weeks.  My body is tired and I don't have the energy to finish the chores around the house that I want to before you get here.  My legs are so swollen from retaining water and by the end of the day, I feel like an elephant.  You are sitting so low that my bladder is constantly being pressed on.  I have to go to the bathroom at least once every hour, and sometimes twice.  I get really sore and tired just from doing the easy things that I used to do everyday.  I've been having contractions every single day and they make me very sore from the tightness in my chest to the soreness in my pelvis.  My back is very tight from trying to hold you up and there are knots all up and down my spine.  These and many more reasons make me so very excited for you to come home with us.  You're getting so big now - big enough to sustain yourself outside the womb.  It's so surreal.  The moment I have been waiting for for the last 9 months is finally around the corner.  I am ecstatic.  I am also very nervous.  I am scared for the delivery.  Mommy has never had a very strong tolerance for pain, and I know that delivery is very painful.  I hope that things go smoothly and we bring you here healthy and strong.  I hope that I can recover easily and quickly and be able to do all the things with you right away that I have been dreaming about.  You mean the world to me and I can't wait to hold you, feed you and bond with you every minute of every day. 

Baby girl, I will see you so soon and I want you to know that I love you more than I have words to express.
Daddy and I cannot wait to hold your little head in the palm of our hands and call you by your name and kiss you over and over.  Daddy always talks about seeing your first yawn.  Make sure to give him a really cute yawn.  We will see you ever so soon.  Stay strong until the day that we meet you.

Love always and forever,
Mommy.

31 Weeks

Baby Girl,

I am surprised at how big you are getting.  Especially in the last week.  You seemed to have doubled in size! We are at 31 weeks currently and it's quickly coming to the end.  Your Daddy is currently away at Field Training for the Air Force ROTC.  He will be gone for a total of 4 weeks and we have no communication during those 4 weeks.  I miss your Daddy so much baby girl.  I certainly hope you marry someone as impressive and loving as your Father one day.  He is my biggest hero and the love of my life.  I am looking forward to the growth we will see from this experience.  And I am thankful for the time I have to spend with you alone.  This time apart from your Daddy has given You and I a chance to bond and I honestly feel closer to you because of it.  You've been so much more active and it's comforting knowing that you are healthy, active and moving around.  You're spirit has definitely manifested itself and I love it.  Your Daddy left a voicemail before he left for us to listen to.  I play it for you each night so that you can hear Daddy's voice and you always respond.  As soon as you hear Daddy talk, you start to kick and squirm.  I can tell you miss him too.  It excites you to hear your wonderful Daddy's voice.  And it should.  He'll be the greatest man you'll ever know.  I can't wait for you guys to meet.

Every little move you make is so profound.  I can see your head as it pushes against my belly.  I can feel your little arms and legs pressing out and manifesting against my skin.  You make me so happy Nora Grace.  I can't wait to be your Mom and I hope I remember to include the Lord in our relationship so that I can be guided to raise you and teach you all that I need to .  So that I will be patient at all times.  Even when it seems impossible.  I'll need your help and I know the Lord will help our whole family if we dedicate ourselves to him.

9 weeks to go princess and I am loving all the details of preparing for Motherhood.  I can't wait to meet you.  Send your Daddy some love at this time and keep me lots of company!  Keep up the acrobatics because I love the time we have together.

Love always and forever,
Mom

7 Months

It's crazy to think how far we've come since that day that I saw those two pink lines on that stick.  Many days of sickness have passed, many moments of joy.  Many tears, both of happiness and sadness.  Many doctor's visits, pictures, work days, and lazy Saturdays.  Many moments that begin to fade away, and a few we will never forget.  Literally, months have passed us by.  So much has happened to bring us to where we are today.  The truth is that pregnancy has been hard.  It's been hard on me physically.  Becoming so big isn't really something that anybody is comfortable with.  Even though I know it's for a good cause, it's still hard to see my body transform.  Thanks to your amazing Daddy, I don't doubt that he thinks I am still beautiful.  He loves the pregnant me.  But I still have a hard time accepting pregnant me.  Not only does my body look different, but it works differently than it did before there was a little ole' you in there.  I quickly learned that I wouldn't be able to workout during pregnancy.  Running was ruled out within the first trimester.  Exercise is such a good outlet and I haven't been able to take advantage of it for months.  Even walking has become a challenge for me these days.  I feel overly exerted from walking through the grocery store.  Tasks that used to be so simple are now challenging for me.  What happened to the old Jamie who had lots of energy and loved to cook for her sweet husband?  Who cleaned the house often and did crafts in her spare time?  I've been sick for months.  I've thrown up more times than I can count.  My back aches in places I never knew existed.  My feet burn all night every night.  And I cry all the time.  I feel helpless and slightly worthless at times.  This isn't the "Me" I want to be.  I can't do everything for myself and others that I used to be able to do.  I feel like a burden to your Dad, yet he has been nothing but kind and supportive through all the tears.  And you know what the truth is behind all this?  The truth is that I can't wait to be your Mom and I love you more than words can say.  I can't express the excitement and joy I feel to welcome you to our family.  I feel so blessed that the Lord has trusted me to be your mother.  I know that none of the crazy symptoms and setbacks could ever change the way I feel about you.  It may not have been the easiest journey, but it has always been worth it.  You are the prize princess, and I couldn't be more honored.  I hope one day that you too will make these small sacrifices to experience the joys of motherhood.  I know my love for you will only grow.  It is through these trials that I have grown to appreciate you and the bonds we've made.  I love you baby girl.  You've always been worth it.      

25 Week Update

Baby Girl,

You are growing so much and everyday I am amazed at the little person you are becoming.  You love to kick these days, and it doesn't bother me one bit! I love to know that you are active and well.  It's exciting that I get to take you everywhere I go and you can hear everything I say .. or should that worry me? You are about the size of an ear of corn these days (11.8 inches).  Your growing lungs continue to practice breathing skills, and they are developing immensely to be able to perform the necessary functions required to sustain life outside of the womb.  You're starting to thicken up .. right along with Mom! Your face is filling out and as well as your body.  I can't wait to squeeze your little cheeks! Your muscles are growing, your bones are strengthening, and your organs are continuing to develop.

We had an ultrasound last week and the Ultrasound Technician checked for many things.  She checked that your heart was developing and at the correct stage.  She checked to make sure your bladder was there and that your kidneys were in the correct place.  She checked your spine and ruled out spina bifida.  The measured you probably 7 different ways to make sure you were all "up-to-date" with your growing.  I was comforted to know that about 90% of birth defects have been ruled out.

It was so fun to see you move around and try and suck on your hands and feet.  To see you swallow and do normal baby things.  I love you so much and can't wait to meet you. But we need you to stay in there a little while longer and continue to grow healthy and strong so you can be ready for your life here on earth.  There are so many things we want to do when you arrive and so many adventures we want to take, but you need to be physically ready so hold on to your diaper and stay put for about 15 12 more weeks.

Here are the pictures from your most recent ultrasound.  I sure do enjoy these sneak-peeks of my baby.

You are perfect

Nora,

Your Daddy and I love the name that we have chosen for you.  We love to call you by your name already.  It makes us the bond between the 3 of us even stronger.  We can't wait to meet you and put a beautiful face to your name.

The last couple weeks have been really hard on me.  I was starting to feel better, but I am feeling more sick again - and some days even more than before.  As long as you are healthy though, I will be just fine. Also accompanying the last few weeks has been bouts of anxiety. I know it is common for a Mommy to worry, but I am already a worrier at heart.  I worry about you all the time.  I want you to be healthy and strong and able in every way.  I pray for you everyday, but still worry.  I have to rest assured that you are in the Lord's hands and he will provide you with the body that he sees fit for you.  I still pray that it is a strong one full of ability.  I want you to be able to accomplish all the goals you have in life.  Every Mother hopes for the perfect baby, and I am no exception.  But I also know that there is no defined "perfection".  I remember the day your Aunt Sydney was born.  It was a very emotional time for our family.  I am ashamed to say that I was afraid I would love her less due to her differences.  She wasn't "normal" per se.  But as time went on and she grew, I was blessed to have my heart softened and expanded to hold so much love for such a truly perfect daughter of God.  I am thankful for the blessing she has been in my life to teach me acceptance, tolerance, and love toward every human being no matter what they look like.  This applies to you too Nora.  I will love you no matter what.  You will always be perfect to me because you are perfect to your Heavenly Father. 

I love you already and will continue to love you more and more.  I love the time we have together including the many times throughout the day that I get to feel your kicks and movements.  You are a joy to have around and I know we will always feel joy in our hearts for you and your place in our family.  Thank you for making us a family and making me a mother. 

Love Mommy