Dear Jace,

You are 3.5 weeks old and it blows my mind that we have had you for almost a month. I just stare at your little face every day and can't believe that God entrusted you to me. You are so precious to me, son. I had absolutely no idea the overwhelming love that I would feel for you. But I want you to know that my love for you is like a drop of water compared to the love that your heavenly Father has for you. My one desire is that you would know Him. Now I'm not a perfect mom and sometimes you will feel like the most important things are to get good grades, be nice, be well behaved, eat better, have a clean room.. but I pray that the message we send consistently is that the most important thing in life is Jesus.

Apart from your dad and I's faith I want you to know Jesus on a personal and real level. I want Him to wreck your life and for you to be ruined for the things of this world. I want you to be a man that follows hard after Him and be like Samuel when the Lord speaks say "Speak, for your servant is listening". You are a treasure little boy. It is so tempting to hold you so tight and never let go, to protect you from all the bad things of this world. But every day, sometimes every moment, I have to give you right back to God. You are His child far more than you are mine. I pray you know how loved you are. I pray you always feel at home in my home and loved in my arms. I pray that God would equip me to be the mama that you need. I pray that He would give me wisdom to know the intricacies of your amazing little mind, heart and soul. I pray that God would prepare a wife for you and that your marriage would be filled with the joy and laughter like your dad and I have.

You come from a sappy family, little buddy. I will probably drive you absolutely crazy with the amount of times I just look at you and cry. You are a dream come true for me. For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a mom and you made me one. I have never understood the love of God like I have in these last 3.5 weeks. The sacrifice of the cross takes on such a new and intense meaning when I think of the price God paid in giving up His son. So in all the ways I mess up as your mama I pray that the resounding message we send to you would be this- know Jesus, little boy. Know Him and love Him with all of your heart. Grab ahold of Him and run the race that He marks out for you, I know it's gonna be incredible.

Love you so,
Your mama