Love Letters

Dear Em,

"Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life."

- Janine di Giovanni

After the winter we've had, I don't think we could be more ready for "hope, renewal, & new life." I looked out our backdoor at the fresh snow covering our yard on Sunday morning & thought, "It's beginning to look a lot like...Easter?" After the winter we had, Easter photos in the snow seemed incredibly appropriate.

You preferred the much warmer, indoor photo shoot with the Easter Bunny. Is it just me, or do you look a little bit less like a little girl & a little more like a young lady each & every day?

Happy Easter, my little love! Here's to new life...& green grass...& flowers blooming...& sunshine. Remember that Jesus is the reason for this beautiful season.

I love you so,

Mommy

My Anchor Tattoo

Dear Em,
A couple weeks ago I got my third tattoo. While you've seen all three of my tattoos, it may come as a surprise to others. There are actually people I've known for years that have no idea that I have any tattoos.

I got my first tattoo when I was 19. It was my first summer living away from home. I was a summer camp counselor with the weekend off. I woke up early in the morning, & just felt like getting my first tattoo. A fellow camp counselor went with me. I had no idea what I wanted. I looked through the sample books & pages hung on the tattoo parlor walls before deciding on a simple sunflower. I wanted something that wouldn't be covered up all the time but also wouldn't be too obvious. My ankle was the spot I chose.

I got tattooed the second time when I was in grad school. This time I had known what I wanted for a while. Inspired by Footprints in the Sand, I wanted the outline of footprints. It symbolized one of my favorite poems, God, my love of the shore, & all the time I spent with my family at the beach. One of my friends from college was also getting a tattoo, & we went together. Your Daddy watched me wince as I got my right heel tattooed.

Most days I don't even notice I have tattoos, but for a while now, I'd been thinking about getting another. While anchors have recently been popular in fashion, they've always been my favorite. To me, they symbolize growing up as a Navy brat & never being far from the ocean. After graduating from high school, the anchor began to symbolize Rhode Island (it's part of the state flag), URI, & meeting your Daddy. Since buying a house in Rhode Island, the anchor has come to symbolize our summer walks on the beach, our shared love of the ocean, & home.

BUT, I've never gotten a tattoo by myself. You would think this wouldn't be an issue, as I'm not a tattoo rookie, but I was nervous to do it on my own. Luckily, when I asked my dear friend Ali, she agreed to go with me & get one too.

I can't believe the butterflies I felt in my stomach as they tattooed a small anchor onto my wrist, the most noticeable area of all my tattoos. I instantly loved it, & it meant even more that I got to share the experience & the same tattoo with one of my best friends.

Two days later, I was reading to you, & you noticed it. With my past two tattoos, I hadn't been completely honest with you. When you asked about them, I may have told a little white lie & said they were stickers. This time, I decided to put my big girl pants on & be honest. I explained to you that the anchor was a tattoo, a permanent tattoo. I told you that a permanent tattoo is something you can't get until you're 18. If you decide to get one, and many people decide not too (like Daddy), it's very important to choose wisely. Make sure it's something that you're going to love forever, because it will be forever.

You kind of shrugged & went on with your day. I don't know how much you understood. I don't know if you will want a tattoo someday too (is it weird that I kind of hope you won't want one?), but I'm glad that we had an honest conversation about it. I hope we can have honest conversations about things like this in the future (rather than being like me who hid my first tattoo from my Dad for almost a year).

For now, & hopefully for a really long time, we'll stick to stickers & temporary tattoos.

I love you so,
Mommy

Easter 2014 Recap

Dear Em,
Easter was late this year, & all year I have been hoping that we would be able to celebrate the late holiday with warm weather. Well, the New England weather did not disappoint. You could feel God in the sunshine all weekend.

This month had been so very busy for us, other than reading books, we didn't do much to prepare for the Easter holiday. Instead, we fit a bunch of celebrations into this one weekend. We started with a sleepover with your best friend. I had some easy Easter crafts prepared, & the two of you had a blast crafting away.

You woke up Saturday morning & Daddy made you bunny pancakes, with bacon for the bunny ears & chocolate robin eggs for eyes & nose. Daddy is so creative.

We headed to the Roger Williams Zoo to meet the Easter bunny & take pictures before spending a gorgeous day checking out the animals.

On Sunday morning, you woke up & came into our room for morning snuggles & cartoons. I snuck downstairs to finish helping the Easter bunny set up. When I returned, you told us you were hungry for "bref-kast." I told you that the Easter bunny had left you some surprises. Your eyes grew wide. You had forgotten all about Easter. Your surprises started with bunny ears & flower headbands for us to put on, your first clue to the 25 clue scavenger hunt, & a few eggs to filled with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peanuts, cheez-its, & gold fish. Since you were hungry, you gobbled down the treats & continued gobbling down the treats as you went through your hunt.

Nonnie worked with the Easter Bunny this year & asked the Bunny to deliver a Princess Aurora costume. You wore the sparkly, pink costume for the rest of the hunt.

You love, love, love scavenger hunts. I love watching your excitement as you find each new clue (& eat each new snack). I was struck by how much you've grown. It was amazing to me how little help you needed this time as you did your hunt. I'm dazzled by how you develop & grow year after year. You found your Easter Basket in mine & Daddy's room, & you were beyond thrilled to find it filled with treasures. It was the most adorable thing ever.

You were happy to finally eat "bref-kast." We were surprised that you were still so hungry after all the snacks you ate throughout your scavenger hunt. Daddy made us corn fritters! It is my very favorite breakfast that my Daddy makes, & I've only been able to eat them a few times a year. I was thrilled when Daddy offered to tackle the recipe for the first time this Easter...we all were. They were delicious!

You spent the rest of the morning playing with your new treasures.

We face-timed with my family before meeting with Daddy's family later in the day. It was the perfect way to spend the day with so many people we love. You got to enjoy another scavenger hunt at Grandma & Papa's house before we headed to Daddy's aunt's house, to celebrate with a whole home full of family. And since you had only snacked on fruit, chips, goldfish, peanuts, & cheez-its at our house, we let you enjoy all of the candy & desserts you wanted for the rest of the day.

Absolutely contented, you lost the battle to sleep on our way home. Daddy & I smiled as we watched your eyes droop & eventually close.

I think this was my favorite Easter yet. It was an amazing weekend to celebrate God's forgiveness & God's blessings with people we love.

I love you so,
Mommy