A Gift From My Heart: Birthday Books

It's pretty evident that my kids are my world. I dreamed all my life about being a mom. Then, when I decided it was the "right time" to have kids, things didn't go the way I planned. The experiences of my first three miscarriages devastated me. For the first time in my life, I was heartbroken. Finally, on March 15, 2012, God blessed me with the baby that I had prayed so diligently for, day after day. Brady was my wish come true, the "yes" to all those prayers.

When Brady was 15 months old, we decided it was time to try to give him a sibling. Unfortunately, the answer was no, again. So, Steven and I decided, we'd try one.last.time to have another baby. And when I say, one last time, I'm serious. Whether the outcome was good or bad, this was it. I was not going to put myself through anymore heartache. If God wanted us to have another baby, he'd give us one, if not, then we were going to be happy as a family of three. So, I prayed really hard that God would give us one more blessing, and low & behold, He gave us FIVE!!!! lol   Our quints arrived on March 18, 2014, just three days after Brady turned two, so in a span of 2 years and 3 days, I gave birth to 6 kids! :)   Talk about the shock of a lifetime!

It's such a honor to be Brady, Mia, Tessa, Brant, Gracie, and Rayleigh's mama. I want them to always know how much I love them and what a blessing they are to my life, so I'm doing something special for them each year on their birthday, and I thought I'd share this idea with you! My sister gave me this idea from something she's doing for my nephew. She bought the book, Oh the Places You Will Go, and each year, she gives the book to Gavin's school teacher to write a note to him. When he graduates, she will give him the book as a graduation gift and it will have been signed by all his teachers throughout his childhood. I love that idea, and I plan on doing the same thing for my six kiddos.

I was walking down the book isle in Target a couple of months ago and saw the book, If I Could Keep You Little by Marianne Richmond. It caught my eye, so I picked it up and read it. I fell in love with the book, it made me think of my quints. I don't know why, but it's so hard for me to see the babies grow up so fast. I'm so thankful they're healthy and growing and meeting milestones....I just wish I could slow the process down because it's going way too fast. So, I decided to take my sister's idea with the book and I'm putting my own twist to it... I bought 5 copies of the book, If I Could Keep You Little, and each year on the quint's birthday, I write a message to them. When they turn 18, I'll give them the book and it will have little notes from me each year of their life.

Well, I will never leave my Brady out of anything, so I started thinking about what to do for him. I had already missed two years of writing to him in a book, but I decided I wasn't going to worry about that, he was going to have a book too, but one that was different from the quints. I found another book by the same author, called You Are My Wish Come True. I immediately knew it was the perfect book for Brady. So, I started, this year, writing to him in his birthday book.

I'm sharing this with you because maybe some of you are sentimental like me and would like to do something special for your little one too. It's cheap and easy to keep up with and it's something they will always be able to keep. And I ask that if you have any great ideas on a special project you're doing for your kiddos, please share with me. I love hearing from other mamas. :)

For my sweet Brady Boo!   :)

For Mia, Tessa, Brant, Gracie, & Rayleigh!   :)