Dear Emma,
As I write this letter, I am sitting at the kitchen table eating some Oreos and drinking milk. We have been playing a lot this evening with your Fisher-Price cash register and watching Muppet Show clips on YouTube. Mommy is upstairs lying down in your bed with you; talking with you as you go to sleep in your pink cat pajamas with sparkles and a top with buttons. Before I came downstairs, Mommy and I received your big hugs and your variety of kisses (big, tiny, side).
This past year, like the first two, was wonderful. You continued to grow and learn. You love school. You have no fear when it comes to jumping off of things. On school mornings, your favorite breakfast at home is a bowl of apple cinnamon oatmeal, a tube of Gogurt, and a glass of 2% milk. When I ask you, “Emma what are you going to do at school today?”, your usual reply is, “I am going on the playground to JUMP.”
You have learned all of your letters, your numbers up to twenty, and can recognize your first name when you see it. You love to ask Mommy and Daddy, “What’s your name?” (you know both of our full names), and you have picked up on the humor of having the last name Strange. You love books. Some of your favorite books are: Llama Llama Red Pajama, Christmas Star, Goodnight Moon, Goodnight Gorilla, and the Bible. You like to “read” to Mommy and Daddy, telling us to “Sit on the carpet”, just like your teacher does at West Georgia Children’s Academy.
You had a great time seeing all of your relatives during Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had Thanksgiving Dinner at your Nanny’s house the Sunday before Thanksgiving and had Thanksgiving Dinner at our house on Thanksgiving Day.
You got to see Santa Claus at NCCS Night at Barnes and Noble Bookstore at the Avenues, and you noticed that he looked a lot like your Daddy. Daddy filled-in as Santa, for Mike Corbett, and had a great time. One of my favorite pictures is on of you sitting on Santa’s knee, looking at his face, trying to figure out why he favored Daddy. On Christmas Eve, we went to Granna’s house in Summerville, for the annual gift-opening sprint, that is Christmas time with Granna’s side of the family. You had fun playing with your cousins Jenna Mosley and Linkin Farrar. They are about 5 years older than you, but you always enjoy playing with the “big” kids. We opened presents at our house on Christmas morning, then we loaded-up our black, Ford Expedition sleigh and headed toward Memphis for Christmas fun with Mimi, Aussie (dog), Uncle Kevin, Aunt Katie, Uncle Deedle, Buddy (dog), and Grandma. We saw lots of snow on the trip to Memphis and left our house just before a lot of snow fell here in Dallas. Just after the New Year started, 8 inches of snow fell here at our house. Mommy and I bundled you up and the three of us went outside and played in the snow. We set you on a boogie board, and then an air mattress, and let you ride down the hill in the back yard. Since no cars were on the roads, because of all of the ice, we let you ride the boogie board on our road, Lakeside Terrace. Mommy walked about halfway down the road, toward the cul-de-sac, to catch you, while Daddy placed you on the board and gave you a gentle push. Since you the boogie board was riding on ice, you began to pick-up speed, so much so, that Mommy had to dive to stop you before you headed into the Jones’ garage at the end of the cul-de-sac.
You enjoy going to your Sunday school at Cedarcrest Church, which meets at Allatoona High School, where you color or make a craft (a lot of the time the crafts involve cotton balls) and listen to Bible stories, while eating Goldfish and drinking water. Your favorite thing about church is getting to ride the “Alligator” (your name for the elevator). Back in April we stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Nashville; Mommy was running in the half-marathon. During the days leading up to and including the entire trip to Nashville all that you talked about was, “I’m going to the hotel to ride the alligator.” The elevator inside the Sheraton is glass and goes up 28 floors. When we got on the elevator after checking-in, you grabbed on to Mommy with a grip that would make a python green with envy, while saying loudly, “Hold me Mommy, hold me”. When we got off of the elevator at our floor you started walking toward the room, looked up at me and Mommy, and said proudly, “I rode the alligator.”
You improved a lot with swimming (still with arm floats) and you love going out on the lake on your boat. You say often say the prayer at meals and at bedtime with either “folding hands or holding hands” and you always end your prayer with, “Be with Eli, keep him safe, and let him know we are coming to get him. We love you. Amen.” Eli will be the name of your brother that we are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia.
During this past year Aussie (dog) passed away, and then on October 11, Grandma passed away. When you first asked where Aussie went, we told you, “He is in Heaven.” You misunderstood us and thought that we said, “He is in Kevin.” Once we got the “Heaven / Kevin” misunderstanding cleared-up, you would tell us, “Aussie is in Heaven, not Kevin.” At Grandma’s funeral you fell asleep in my arms and snored liked a bear throughout the entire service.
Emma, your Mommy and I love the fact that you love to learn and are very kind and helpful. We want to help you continue to learn and be happy; discovering what God has in store for your life and how He will use you to impact the world. You are a Blessing and a Treasure; a gift from God. We will love you forever.
