Happy New Year, Baby James!

Dearest baby James,

We celebrated Christmas last week, and your mom and dad came to visit. They like to sneak little smooches when no one is looking.

Or, they think no one is looking.

There you are, being held by both your mom and dad. You're 32 weeks big and before long, they will hold you, skin to skin, and finally be able to smooch on you too.  (I'll be smooching on you as well, just so you know.)

We had a great Christmas with too many holiday goodies, and now I'm having withdrawal symptoms from not having a Christmas cookie every thirty minutes. Boo-hoo.

I wanted to share some of the year's events with you, as 2015 has ended. The most beautiful thing that occurred last year was that YOU were created. You weren't here in 2014, and now you are just weeks away from being born. Isn't that amazing?

Here are some other tidbits you might find interesting.

1. In this family, we visit the doctor a lot. Between your grandparents and your great-grandparents, we had 140 doctor visits this past year. 140! You need doctor visits all your life. You're getting a visit with your doctor once a month already. I'm grateful for doctors and nurses and all the people in the medical field. They know a lot of things, and do things I would not want to do. So, thank you, Jesus for health professionals!

2. Your great-grandfather (my dad) turned 92 years old. Your great-grandmother (my mom) turned 95. You and these great-grandparents are almost 100 years apart!

When you are born, you will need lots of tender loving care and help doing everything. Your great grandparents are a bit like that too. We all get older, and we all need more help. So, babies and great-grand parents are alike in many ways. They are both very dear to God's heart, because babies come straight from heaven, and the elderly are getting close to returning to heaven. We each have our turn at being a baby, and getting older.

3.  I, your Nana, published a book this year. It's a great story/project I love to talk about, and when you're older, I'll tell you all about it. I hope you love to read, because you can learn so many things about the world and people and trucks and dinosaurs and baseball, if you love to read. We'll read together once you get here, and you'll see how fascinating it can be.

4. Your grandpa and aunt jumped out of the plane this past year! I thought they were a little nutty, but they love adventure, and they had a blast floating to earth with parachutes after free-falling for a bit. Your dad and I watched from the ground. I bet someday, you'll want to jump out of a plane too!

5.  Your Grandpa and I celebrated 40 years of marriage. That might not mean much to you until you're married yourself, but one thing that made it extra special was that we knew you were coming. We have been very excited about that. I bought a baby boot for my charm bracelet and I started making you a quilt. These are the girly things grandmothers do for their grandchildren.

6.  I lost a friend of mine this year to an awful disease called cancer.  People get sick sometimes, and they don't get better here on earth. God takes them home to heaven with Him, and that's where they become healed and happy again. So, even though this life has some heartaches and losses, we find peace again in God's loving arms. Always remember this.

There are things we learn every year of our lives. Your first year of life, you will learn an amazing number of things: the sound of your own name, how to wave goodbye, how to roll over, how to sit up, how to say a few words. You will learn that your mama and daddy will take care of you. They will make you laugh and keep you warm. You will meet the family animals. You will learn what oatmeal and bananas taste like. You will learn that growing teeth can be painful. But, also that gnawing on a frozen bagel feels good.

And that's just the beginning. Every new year, you will learn exciting things. God has a life full of adventure planned for you. "Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope," He tells all His children. He's a really big God with all kinds of crazy ideas, so trust Him and look forward to what is coming next.

Happy New Year to you, sweet baby James! (I will see you in just a few weeks. I'll be the one with tears in my eyes.)

love, Nana