Dear Josephine, springtime and Jalen have arrived...

Dear Josephine -
First of all, I want to say you are an awesome big sister! We’ll never forget your reaction when you met your baby brother for the first time. We had him waiting in his crib (which used to be yours) and when you walked in your eyes lit up and you said, “It’s my baby!!!” Your brother Jalen decided to come into the world on a snowy Sunday morning. I had been up with you most of the night as you were sick. It broke my heart to have to leave you to rush to the hospital, but our wonderful neighbor Gerilyn came quickly to take care of you so Daddy didn’t have to deliver the baby in the car! Then, Grammi and Papa took you to Marysville for a few days so you could get well and be with your baby brother. That’s when they brought you back and you discovered him in the crib. Here’s a pic of your first meeting. Even though we have a newborn in the house, we’ve gotten to do so many fun things this spring! We’ve spent some really fun times in Marysville making our own fun. You love to hang out at Orschelin (formerly Wheeler’s when I was little!) to check out the chicks and ducks they sell and pretend to drive the lawn mowers. Papa takes you to the park and lets you help him feed the birds, which you absolutely love. Grammi delights in watching you guys out the window, hand-in-hand, taking care of Papa’s feathered friends. You still treasure your special “Marysville toys” and Papa lays them all out by the fireplace before we arrive. Of course, your special treat there is watching Cinderella, which your grandparents can now quote word for word! Your great gram recently moved into the nursing home and we’ve made several visits for you to pass out stickers to the residents and even dyed Easter eggs with great gram! We also visited Leavenworth to stay with Grandpa Carl & Grandma Jeanne, who have helped Mommy out SOOO much! They always have new treasures for you and a whole library of Disney movies! You and I and baby Jalen visited Des Moines with Gpa Carl to see your Great Grandparents and the Kellers a few weeks ago. Great Grandma Marge read books to you and you entertained us all with your “lessons” on the Resurrection Eggs we bought at Hobby Lobby. You also recited Psalm 91 for us, which was a special blessing for GG Marge. Other events have included visits to Crown Center to see the Fairy Tale Village, numerous playdates with cousins and friends, a special Disney on Ice date with Daddy and I and our special family icecream dates that we all love so much! Lets see, what else? You’re into “reading” any book you can get your hands on. You love to take center stage and pretend to read each page in a loud voice. Your reading consists of snippets of all the books you can remember and it makes us all smile. Right now, you’re into Bearenstain Bears books. Grandma Jeanne gave you a whole collection from when Uncle Alex was little. What a treasure! You ask more and more questions about God and it’s really good for me! It makes me think about what we believe and why we believe it. It reminds me that we are all little children learning something new every day. You continue to have a sweet spirit, a definite flair for the dramatic, an earnest desire to help others, and a growing awareness of people in need. You insisted that we pass out hand warmers to the “Tax Time” guy that stands on Roe Ave. every day because we thought he might be homeless and it was cold out. You love to sing in a high pitched voice, especially in church. Your special song with Daddy is an 80’s hair band song – I’ll Never Let You Go. He sang it to you when you were in my tummy. It’s so sweet to hear you sing it.
There’s so much more to say but I’ll have to close for now. Lately, I’ve had that Steven Curtis Chapman song in my mind – “Cinderella.” It could’ve been written for you! Makes me cry every time. Even though our patience is sometimes short because of lack of sleep with a newborn around, we hope to savor each moment together. It is so sweet how you say Jalen's name. Mostly you call him "baby brother." You are very protective of him, too! We love experiencing each day with you, sweet girl!