Dear Little VKs: That Summer

Dear Little VKs,

I dare say this is the best summer I’ve ever had. Yes, even better than any summer I had as a kid or a teen.

You know why? Because you are here.

I feel a sense of completeness. This is my life. You are my kids. The ones I dreamed of raising. And this is that summer…the one I imagined when I was dating your daddy. The summer where he goes to work during the day and I have the summer off so we just play in the wide open spaces of our yard and I don’t care as much about a dirty house and keeping up with laundry and cooking actual meals. What’s important is enjoying the time we have together. Jumping on the trampoline. Splashing in the $15 inflatable pool from Aldi. Pushing you in the swing on our hand-me-down play set. Watching you drive your Power Wheels all over the yard and killing the battery everyday. Sometimes twice. Reading books. Watching the baby birds in the bedroom window. Curling up on the couch to watch a movie and eat popcorn. Catching fireflies in a mason jar.

This is all I ever wanted. I don’t have big, lofty goals I want to attain in my life. I have a few goals in mind and I would like to reach them one day. But, you are what I wanted. The three of you and your daddy. Oh, and the dog, but her hair is everywhere and y’all keep letting her out of the fence and I have to chase her and yell “SANIBEL, COME GET SOME BREAD” like a redneck and I’d rather keep this chipper so we are just going to drop the dog talk right now.

I don’t deserve for that summer I imagined to become this summer. I don’t deserve for you to be my reality. But here we are, filthy and smelly from playing outside all morning and all I can do is tear up and thank God that I have all of you.

Abide in Him, my children, and His desires will be planted in your heart. You will grow to want the same things He does.

It was first His desire to give you to me. To give your daddy to me. And to give me to all of you. Our family is just what I pictured, but it was God’s design first. And He is the one that planted the desire for you in my heart.

I’m going to fail you everyday. I’m going to mess up and make the wrong choice and say the wrong thing and jump to the wrong conclusion. But you can be certain that none of those things will happen with your Heavenly Father.

Keep the joy that you have. It’s utterly contagious. And when you feel you are losing that joy, ask God to restore it. Because your joy will lead others to joy in Christ. It certainly has that effect on me.

Thanks for being you. Don’t change.

Except this one thing, please stop letting the dog out of the fence.

I love you always.