Charlie and Olivia's 6 Year Letters

Dear Liv,

This past year has been a treat with you. Your personality is bigger and brighter than ever, and it has been fun having you around! You and your Daddy are a riot together. Giggling at your silly jokes and otherwise goofing around. You love to tell "why did the chicken cross the road?" jokes, but you don't yet understand what makes them FUNNY. So your punch line is always a real answer, which is funny in and of itself.

Coloring has become a huge love of yours, right along with singing, dancing, acting, and putting together outfits. Recently, your Dad told you that there was a place called Broadway where you could put ALL of those talents and interests to good use. At hearing this amazing news, you immediately decided that was what you wanted to do. Someday, you will be on Broadway. And if you want that Livy Lou, if that is your dream, you will do it. I have no doubt. And your Daddy and I will be there to help you every step of the way. :)

You started KINDERGARTEN this year!! It finally came. You have been wanting to go to school for quite some time, and now here we are. Your teacher is Mrs. Hutson, and you took to her right away, giving her a hug good-bye after your first day of school. You are learning to read right now, and every night you have a short book you have to read to us. There was a brief moment at the beginning when you had trouble identifying letter sounds, so you went to a speech therapist (who happens to be a friend of ours) for a little help. But within a few weeks, you were blowing through your letters with ease and knew far more than were expected for that time.

As always, you have made several friends, and according to your teacher, you are quite the popular girl. But none of this comes as a surprise as you are have never met a stranger or a person you didn't love. You came to this earth with a special spirit. One that knows and loves everyone. When you are wronged, it hurts you to the core. You will often say, "he broke my heart," instead of  "that made me sad." You are especially sensitive to those around you and are SO loving with your little brothers and sister. Even when they are beating up on you (it happens), you refuse to hurt them because it's not right.

Another new, and welcome development, has been how very HELPFUL you are! You have a real, true desire to serve others beyond what YOU get out of it. You are so helpful, that I often have to check myself to make sure that I am not giving all of the responsibilities to you. Knowing that I can generally ask for your help and not get a fit is a huge relief to me. Thank you for all that you do to help me and others throughout the day. :)

Livy, you are a sheer joy to have around. Even when you have your moments of difficulty, you exude so much love. I look forward to having more time together just the two of us as you get older. I thank my Father in Heaven every day that he chose to send you to us. I love you to the moon and back, and back, and back, and back, and back again!

Happy 6th Birthday!!

Love,
Mommy



Dear Charlie,

There is so much I could say in this letter. I could talk about how you started Kindergarten this year. How you struggled a bit in the beginning with staying on task and following directions, but that now you are doing an amazingly wonderful job with all of that! I could talk about how you are learning to read quickly, and you are really enjoying addition.

I could talk about your obsession with love of Minecraft. That if you could, you would spend your entire day watching Minecraft videos on the computer to get ideas for what to build, and then go to your game to build them. I could talk about how smart you are, and that all of the above things make me wonder what you will choose to do with your life. Or what you will choose to apply this knowledge, curiosity, and linear thinking to. (I could talk about how NOT to end a sentence with a preposition. ;) )

I could talk about your relationship with your siblings. How you have grown close to the triplets this past year and that you really enjoy playing with Jack. He seems to be your special buddy. I could talk about how you love Olivia so very much, and want her to play with you ALL. THE. TIME.

I could also talk about the difficulties we've had. About how hard it is for you communicate what you want, need, and feel. That every day is a challenge for you.

But here's what I want you know...through all of that...you are my heart. Through the challenges, I see you. I see your heart and your spirit. I see that you are really an incredibly sensitive and loving boy. I see that you WANT to be heard and understood. You want to express yourself. I see that you have a great love for your family and your Father in Heaven. I see how very smart you are. I see all the possibility that you have within you. I see all that you are capable of becoming, and I see all the good that you are right now.

So please know this. I. Love. You. Our family is blessed to have you with us. Every day. And things will not always be so difficult. The Lord sent you to a family that is probably more than you bargained for. While you love being with people, you are a true introvert, and there are very few places you can go to to escape the "loud crazy" of your family. But you give us all so much that we need. And hopefully, when all is said and done, we will have given you some good things too. Because you deserve all the good that the Lord has for you. And while I am an imperfect parent, I hope that I can help provide some of that for you.

I am proud of you, Charles Bowman. I am here for you, and I love you endlessly.

I wish you a very Happy Birthday, and a wonderful next year.

Love Always,
Mommy



To Both of You:

Wow! Can the two of you can get into it! There are numerous conflicts throughout any given day between the two of you, but you are really the best of friends. And while we work on how to solve problems appropriately, I know that this really shows the closeness of your relationship. You feel comfortable being yourselves and expressing your emotions (even if not always appropriately) with each other. You are each other's best friend; each other's other half. You go to each other first to tell exciting news to, or when Mom and Dad aren't being fair. ;) Together, you brighten our lives. Daddy and I love you both very, very much. Thank you for adding so much joy to our family!!