Letters to my family

I’m sorry if this blog post is a little dry… I am writing this more for a journaling purpose than for a ‘general entertainment’ purpose.  However, it never hurts to share with the world how much your family means to you.  So please enjoy, and if you get bored, just hit that ‘next blog’ button at the top of the page there… I’m sure you can find something else to peak your interest!!  Cheers!

To my oldest daughter at the end of your fifth year:

2010 has come and gone and I would like to take this time to put into words how I feel about our past year together.  You have accomplished so much in your fifth year of life.  You can spell, you can count to 100, you can read many words, you can sing us beautiful songs, you can make a game out of a toilet paper roll and a spoon, but most importantly you can love.

You are so full of pure, unconditional love and each day we spend with you it becomes more and more apparent that you have been blessed with an exceptional talent to love.  You are an example to me.  You help me to remember to treat all of God’s children with the love and kindness He expects. 

I visited your classroom two weeks ago to observe you in your ‘school environment’.  As I watched you interact with your classmates, participate in activities and work hard to write in your journal, I was immediately stricken with your level of awareness of the children around you.  You were quick to help your friends find their journals and happily pulled up a chair for a little boy who didn’t have a spot.  Your teacher expressed to me that you often concern yourself with kids who seem to be having a rough day.  You are quick to hold a hand, give a hug or invite a lonely friend to join in your game.  I love this quality about you.  I am so proud of who you are and if you are to do nothing more in this life other than simply being a good person you will have accomplished everything.

You have a self confidence that I admire and it is my wish for you that you continue this trait throughout your life.  Sometimes boys and girls say mean things to you, you tell us these things, and when we ask what you think about their hurtful words your answer is always an easy and confident “That doesn’t matter to me”.  You have the ability to let things roll off of your back without investing too much energy being sad or angry.  When people make you sad or hurt your feelings we talk about it and you often choose to say a prayer for that person.  You tell us that “Heavenly Father can help people to not be mean”.  You have already gained an understanding of the power of prayer in your life.  Your father and I will do our best to help you maintain that knowledge as it will serve you well throughout your life.

You will be told that life is hard my baby girl.  This may be true, but what is also true is that through our toughest of trials we will find our greatest of strengths.  As a girl, you will face a mountain of trials that have the potential to leave you an empty and tired shell of a woman.  Our world is teeming with quiet and subtle attacks to the core of who a woman is, but your love and your confidence is the armor you possess to protect against the hardships your life will bring.  You are crucial to the plan that our Heavenly Father has for this world.  You have a role so unique and special and it is so important you spend ample time learning who you are.  Nobody knows you better than your Father in Heaven and it is Him with whom you can turn to for any knowledge you wish to possess.

I love you Abigail Margaret Willmott and I have had such an amazing year with you.  The holiday season is made so special with you in it.  Merry Christmas to the love of my life.

With adoring love,

Mommy

To my oldest son at the end of your third year:

At the end of this year I want to share with you some of the lasting impressions you have made on my mind.  I have seen you grow so much over this past year.  In the course of one year, you have grown from a babbling toddler into a very well articulated preschooler.  You have your very own ideas and no shortage of ways to express them!

You my Noah are a challenging soul.  You are outspoken, wild and extremely expressive.  You are our middle child who makes his presence well known.  You have a determination to never get lost in the middle of our crowd and I am so thankful for this.  I am so extremely proud of everything you are, everything you do and everything you create.  You are imaginative, insightful, well spoken, crazy lovable and just so darn cute. 

This year you mastered so many milestones.  You were a late walker as a baby and when we moved to our home you still hadn’t mastered the careful art of ascending and descending stairs.  There are six stairs up in our house and 9 stairs down and by the beginning of 2010 you were a pro.  You may have fallen many times but your inborn determination to stick it to life helped you to succeed.  2010 saw you sleep in your first big boy bed, learn to dress yourself (sorta), learn to use the potty and learn to drink from a big boy cup.  You are a hard worker, and are determined to do everything and anything you see fit.  We are coming to realize that you have been blessed with the talent of strong will.  This is a characteristic that when harnessed the right way, will help you achieve greatness.  You are great, you always have been great, and I know you will always be great!

However strong willed you are, you are also in direct opposition of yourself in one very specific way.  You have a nurturing and protective sensitivity to your personality that makes you unbearably lovable to all.  Your loyalties lie with those you love and trust and you are already willing to sacrifice of yourself to protect others.  We often hear you in the school yard at Abby’s school giving heck to others with whom you perceive to be ‘messing with’ your sister.  You never hesitate to yell at someone (mostly me) to “stop making (your) sister sad”, and you are absolutely sure that if the need were to arise, you would totally be able to “hiii-yah any bad guys” who were going to get us.

I love that you own such a protective quality.  You will be a blessing to those you love as you grow into manhood if you always nurture and groom your ability to protect.  A man in our world today plays a powerful and influential role in Heavenly Father’s plan.  I hope that you will grasp this opportunity you have been granted and use it to better the lives of your family and friends.  Search the scriptures often and learn from the examples of the righteous men of old.  Pray to your Father in Heaven to magnify your inborn talents so that you can bless this world with a righteous and commanding presence.  You have been blessed to have been born into a family with a father who is working hard to lead you towards righteousness.  Love your father as he loves you and you will be unstoppable.

I love you Noah Craig Willmott and I have had such an amazing year with you.  The holiday season is made so special with you in it.  Merry Christmas to the love of my life.

With adoring love,

Mommy

To my youngest son at the end of your first year:

This is the year your life here began.  This is the year of so many firsts for you.  You entered into our family in a way that was entirely logical.  You just absolutely fit.

I know your personality already.  I know your talents and I know your strengths.  I held you in my arms as my first child born to me while in membership of the church and it was in that moment when the veil was so paper thin that Heavenly Father was able to whisper what it is that I needed to know about you.  In that instant you came into the world, I felt my connection to the Lord and I felt His hand at work in our life.  You brought me the closest I have ever been to our Heavenly Father and it is through you that I have gained much of my testimony of the work I am meant to do.

I was told when you were born, in that still small voice, of the man you will become.  I know that you are sensitive and kind.  I know that you possess the talent of leading by example.  You will be a strength to our family, a sort of staple child that binds the values and characteristics we strive for. 

You have a heartwarming smile that radiates through your eyes, immediately blessing the life of anyone fortunate enough to see.   When you were only days old, I would lie on the couch in the middle of the night with you on my chest and wrap you into my body to regulate your temperature.  It was in those moments when your body was so close again to mine, that I would feel the miracle of who you are, where you had just been, and where you are going.  From the beginning you have been a cuddler, and there is no sweeter gift a baby can give his mommy than to be so happy to be held.  You gave me more sleepless nights than your sister and brother ever did, but somehow your kind and gentle being made it an experience I looked forward to with a sense of urgency each night.  As 2am drew closer, I would crave your presence again and often woke before you did in anticipation of the stolen moments we would share.  You gave me back my nightlife in a way that was entirely superior to any teenage late night quest. 

I love you for the joy you bring to this world.  I have seen you, in your tiny infant state, change the course of a complete stranger’s day.  You have caused the grumpiest of men in line at the grocery store to erupt in thunderous laughter as you peek around my body to deliver a gentle smile.  People leave your presence happier than when they entered and I know that you have been sent here to make this world better one precious smile at a time.

I watch you try and succeed to do something new each day and I am so grateful to have been chosen to be your mother.  Every time you sit on your own, splash in your bath, eat a new food, point your chubby finger or grow another inch of hair that sticks straight up, I feel a sense of overwhelming pride flow through my body.  You are so perfect.

I love you Elias Peter Willmott and I have had such an amazing year with you.  The holiday season is made so special with you in it.  Merry Christmas to the love of my life.

With adoring love,

Mommy

To my husband at the end of another year:

You are a charismatic and remarkable force to this world.  People are drawn to you and I was lucky enough to have been introduced into your line of sight 7 years ago.  I have had an amazing journey with you through 2010. 

I have watched you grow as much as our own children this past year.  Each day you surprise me with something wonderfully new.  You are a strong and confident priesthood leader to our family and I am so blessed to be married to a man who is willing to rise against the norm and be a guiding strength among us.

You are a powerful example in three separate and specific ways: As the father to a little girl, as the father to two little boys, and as my husband.  You show Abigail the importance of a strong relationship with a man.  If it is true that a woman looks for a mate who portrays the characteristics of her father, then Abigail is so lucky.  You show Noah and Elias the importance of being a strong and righteous man.  You lead by example down a path that will encourage righteous choices and a family based life.  You show me that life can be a peaceful and harmonious balance.  You have provided a safe place for my love to rest and it is in you that I see my past, present and future.

You sealed your life and love to me on June 17^th, 2010.  You entered into a sacred responsibility to devote not only your present life, but your continuation of life beyond the grave to myself and our children.  This is the ultimate of commitments to your family and since that day I view you through eyes that well with gratitude and thanksgiving for the man you have become.

You are an amazing man Mike.  You make me laugh, you make me cry (mostly tears of joy) and you make me smile when I think about you.  You have been so many things to me over the years but at the end of 2010 I am so happy to be able to have you as my best friend.  Life may not always be as easy or as kind as we may hope it to be, but it is helpful to know that you are here with me.  You are a true love to me and my life is complete with you in it.

I love you Michael Peter Willmott and I have had such an amazing year with you.  The holiday season is made so special with you in it.  Merry Christmas to the love of my life.

With adoring love,

Your wife