the first and most important thing that you should know about him is that he loves Jesus, me (your mommy), and you all VERY much. you might already know this because you already have little ears that can hear. you probably feel his gentle and warm hands on my belly and hear him tell you that he loves you. if you can hear that, then you probably also hear him praying over mommy and praying for you. the most important thing that he wants for you is not that you be the best at sports, or the smartest in your class, or the funniest or most popular. all he (and i) want for you is for you to know that Jesus loves you, and for you to love Jesus. even if you don't hear or understand those words and prayers now, you will. they are his prayer for you every day.
not only does daddy love to pray for you and to thank God for you, but he loves to sing. he has a beautiful voice that is often lifting up praise to God. actually, i will tell you a secret - daddy's voice is my favorite voice...speaking or singing. very early on in our relationship daddy had the wisdom to start praying and singing with me, and it's something we try to do every day together.
i found out about you before daddy did. when he came home from his saturday afternoon of playing paintball with friends, i had a card for him at dinner. i told him how much i loved him and how proud of him i am. i told him that he is a wonderful husband and that in the spring he would become a fabulous father. i will never forget that night. he was shocked and kept asking me if it was true..."really?...really?" his first thoughts were to get me started on pre-natal vitamins so that you can grow strong and healthy. he researched a bit (something else your daddy is very good at) what vitamins we needed to look for and then hopped in the car to head to the vitamin shoppe. my favorite part of that drive was the look on your dad's face as he drove. he had a constant grin and look of contentment and joy that made me smile and my heart happy.
daddy came to the first doctor's appointments and has come to some other key one's as well. the very first time we had an ultrasound done, he let out a sweet sound of excitement when he first saw your heart beating. at your 20 week ultrasound, i could barely get his attention cause his eyes were so fixed on the screen watching as the ultrasound tech looked at each and every part of your body. he was much much better than mommy at knowing what we were looking at - your brain, your heart, your legs, your spine. daddy was pretty disappointed when they made him look away at the screen to see if you are a boy or a girl, because he was sure he would be able to tell. a few weeks before he learned how to tell the difference and wanted to be able to distinguish whether he saw a turtle or a hamburger. he will have to wait!
i can bet that you will love being held in your daddy's arms. he is so strong and warm, yet so gentle and sweet. i love his hugs and his cuddles. the rest of the world disappears, as does every fear and worry. when he holds you, you will know that everything is okay. he will make you feel better when you cry. he will comfort you with his kind words - especially with his love, and of course remind you always of God's love.
if you are like mommy, you will miss him when he isn't home. because he is what makes it feel like home. of course our house is warm and nice and is where i belong. but it's not the same when he isn't there. he will have to work, sometimes more hours than we want. he will have meetings for church. he will go to the gym, or to a friend's or family's house. even though we will miss him, we will know that he does all of these things for us and to serve God. sometimes mommy forgets that for a little while, but deep down i know that he is always being the best man that he can be and doing what God wants him to do. we are so very proud of him for that.
daddy will make you laugh. he will spend time with you. he will take care of you when you are sick or hurt. he will do sweet things for you because he loves you and he cares about you. this morning daddy surprised me with "breakfast in bed." when i opened my eyes, he was walking to my side of the bed holding a basket/tray that had my favorite breakfast in it - a bowl of honey bunches of oats. and of course a glass of water on the side because he knows how dry and thirsty i get, especially when i am sick. and along with the breakfast, he gave me a single pink rose. beautiful and so sweet. he loves your mommy very much.
i could go on and on about him, but you will learn it all on your own over time. just know that your daddy, mommy, and Jesus love you very much.
(i think that in this 20 week ultrasound photo, you are holding your hand up to your mouth to tell us a secret...that you love us too).
