DEAR LITTLE JENNY...

Dear little Jenny,

Don't ever loose that big smile and joyful heart. You are full of life and you will bring that life and laughter to others. Life will bring many struggles, but never loose the joy in your heart. You are strong and can withstand a lot more than you think. Just remember that God has given you a deep purpose that is worth living.

You have the capability to love others very deeply and unselfishly. Be patient and don't get too caught up with boys too early. Heed your daddy's advice and protect your heart. You won't fully understand until you're married, but trust me. Your heart is a precious gift and one worth protecting. 

It's okay to be silly and unique. Don't fear what everyone else thinks of you. The popular kids won't like you many times, but that doesn't matter in life. Be different and creative. Your eye for beauty and passion for art will become part of who you are. 

Love,

Grown up Jenny

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We are celebrating Valentine's Day by writing love letters to our little selves. This idea stems from one of my favorite quotes by Kris Carr, “Picture yourself when you were five. in fact, dig out a photo of little you at that time and tape it to your mirror. How would you treat her, love her, feed her? How would you nurture her if you were the mother of little you? I bet you would protect her fiercely while giving her space to spread her itty-bitty wings. she’d get naps, healthy food, imagination time, and adventures into the wild. If playground bullies hurt her feelings, you’d hug her tears away and give her perspective. When tantrums or meltdowns turned her into a poltergeist, you’d demand a loving time-out in the naughty chair. From this day forward I want you to extend that same compassion to your adult self.” This Valentine's Day, take time to write little you a love letter. What are three things you would tell yourself? Show yourself some fierce love this month. ♥

DEAR LITTLE MOOREA...

Dear Little Moorea...

You should not be afraid. You have been strong since you were born. You are going to face so many incredible hardships and obstacles in your life. And at the tender age of 6, you already have dealt with so much. You have already grown up so quickly and have taken on the role of adult. But with each hardship, you will gain greater compassion for those around you and you will see more deeply your greater purpose in life.

Your sacrifices were so worth the love you were able to give. You were born with a beautiful sensitivity towards others and your ability to bring comfort and love to others through your comedic personality and your dept of kindess will stay with you forever.

When you are a grown up, you will understand the power of allowing yourself to be vulnerable. You have had that power inside of you since you were tiny because it is your natural tendency to want to connect to others on a deeper level in an instant. When you were little, you were very fearful of being vulnerable, afraid that it was a path through which others could hurt you. But as a grown up you will see that you are the only one who is in control of your vulnerability. It is a channel flowing out of you with which you harness strength and love. And your vulnerability will do so many good things for others. My little self, you are a wonder. I am so proud of who you are, who you remained during all of the hard times, and the person I now am because of you. Your pains were worth it all. And you will grow to understand happiness and peace like you could never imagine.

Love,
Grown up Moorea

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We are celebrating Valentine's Day by writing love letters to our little selves. This idea stems from one of my favorite quotes by Kris Carr, “Picture yourself when you were five. in fact, dig out a photo of little you at that time and tape it to your mirror. How would you treat her, love her, feed her? How would you nurture her if you were the mother of little you? I bet you would protect her fiercely while giving her space to spread her itty-bitty wings. she’d get naps, healthy food, imagination time, and adventures into the wild. If playground bullies hurt her feelings, you’d hug her tears away and give her perspective. When tantrums or meltdowns turned her into a poltergeist, you’d demand a loving time-out in the naughty chair. From this day forward I want you to extend that same compassion to your adult self.” This Valentine's Day, take time to write little you a love letter. What are three things you would tell yourself? Show yourself some fierce love this month. ♥

DEAR LITTLE JILL...

Dear Little Jill...

Having the benefit of being you for some time, experiencing all that you have experienced, and knowing what you have yet to know, I have a few loving words of wisdom to share.

First, the world is a big place. It is so much larger than you can see with young eyes. The small bruises you take from this journey are much easier to handle if you can see beyond yourself. What feels like a crushing blow to your heart or your ego isn't really so bad. It doesn't even register in the big picture, and one day, you'll hardly remember any specific moments of unhappiness.

Secondly, don't worry that not everyone you meet will want to be your friend. It's not about what's missing in you, it's just a fact that some personalities aren't meant to work together. You'll find your "right" people when you start to believe in yourself and value the good traits you have.

Lastly, you are resilient and unflappable. It's a trait that you won't become truly aware of until you're older. One day someone will point it out to you, and you'll realize that it's true. It's OK to be a bit tough, as long as you don't let it get in the way of the times when you need to be kind. Never forget to first be kind.

So, little me,  although I wouldn't suggest changing too much about the way you do things (the butterfly effect is said to throw things off kilter) I want you to know that there is a lot of love waiting for you in the future. Not only will you be loved by others more than you could have ever imagined, but you'll love and respect yourself more too. Believe that you deserve good things and keep truckin', little one! As you always suspected, things will turn out right.

Love,
Grown up Jill

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We are celebrating Valentine's Day by writing love letters to our little selves. This idea stems from one of my favorite quotes by Kris Carr, “Picture yourself when you were five. in fact, dig out a photo of little you at that time and tape it to your mirror. How would you treat her, love her, feed her? How would you nurture her if you were the mother of little you? I bet you would protect her fiercely while giving her space to spread her itty-bitty wings. she’d get naps, healthy food, imagination time, and adventures into the wild. If playground bullies hurt her feelings, you’d hug her tears away and give her perspective. When tantrums or meltdowns turned her into a poltergeist, you’d demand a loving time-out in the naughty chair. From this day forward I want you to extend that same compassion to your adult self.” This Valentine's Day, take time to write little you a love letter. What are three things you would tell yourself? Show yourself some fierce love this month. ♥

DEAR LITTLE GINA...

Dear Little Gina...

Oh how funny you are. I love how odd you are and that will always be a part of you. The good news is the older you get the cooler being "different" is! Your perspective will challenge people (mostly your parents) and will be refreshing to others.

It will make you the weirdo in the neighborhood with chickens in your backyard but it will also empower everyone around you to find out who they really are. Another thing you need to learn to love would have to be your bangs. You will have them forever. You will, however, graduate from a bowl cut so that is great news.

What I love most about you, though, is your sense of adventure. Being able to spend all day outside building forts and making a mess of yourself is way more fun then playing dress up (though you will do that too). That sense of adventure will take you on travels all the way to Uganda, to go hiking in Arizona, and to marry your best friend and move away to a tiny island where you only need bikes. It will be a blast and that is only the beginning! Enjoy yourself and laugh a lot. Let the little things go.

Love,
Grown up Gina

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We are celebrating Valentine's Day by writing love letters to our little selves. This idea stems from one of my favorite quotes by Kris Carr, “Picture yourself when you were five. in fact, dig out a photo of little you at that time and tape it to your mirror. How would you treat her, love her, feed her? How would you nurture her if you were the mother of little you? I bet you would protect her fiercely while giving her space to spread her itty-bitty wings. she’d get naps, healthy food, imagination time, and adventures into the wild. If playground bullies hurt her feelings, you’d hug her tears away and give her perspective. When tantrums or meltdowns turned her into a poltergeist, you’d demand a loving time-out in the naughty chair. From this day forward I want you to extend that same compassion to your adult self.” This Valentine's Day, take time to write little you a love letter. What are three things you would tell yourself? Show yourself some fierce love this month. ♥

DEAR LITTLE KELLI...

Dear Little Kelli...

Embrace your creativity. Don't fear what others might think of you. Create from your heart and pursue your dreams with confidence. Hold your head up high. Life can be hard sometimes, but don't give up.  You have a purpose.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Yes, you are imperfect, but the beauty of life is in its flaws. No one is perfect, so don't try to be. Embrace all that you are. Learn from your mistakes and grow from your failures. Live a life of gratitude and love the person God has created you to be.

It's ok to cry. You are a sensitive soul. I know sometimes you wish you were stronger....but with that sensitivity also comes compassion and a heart to help and inspire others. Don't try to hide that part of you out of fear that it will do more harm than good. Sometimes your sensitivity will work against you, but it also has the ability to flood you with more love than you know.

Love,
Grown up Kelli

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We are celebrating Valentine's Day by writing love letters to our little selves. This idea stems from one of my favorite quotes by Kris Carr, “Picture yourself when you were five. in fact, dig out a photo of little you at that time and tape it to your mirror. How would you treat her, love her, feed her? How would you nurture her if you were the mother of little you? I bet you would protect her fiercely while giving her space to spread her itty-bitty wings. she’d get naps, healthy food, imagination time, and adventures into the wild. If playground bullies hurt her feelings, you’d hug her tears away and give her perspective. When tantrums or meltdowns turned her into a poltergeist, you’d demand a loving time-out in the naughty chair. From this day forward I want you to extend that same compassion to your adult self.” This Valentine's Day, take time to write little you a love letter. What are three things you would tell yourself? Show yourself some fierce love this month. ♥

DEAR LITTLE SAVANNAH...

Dear Little Savannah...

It's been great knowing you for almost 25 years. You're kind, silly, ambitious, and driven. You've grown up a lot, you have a lot of love in your life, and you'll teach yourself how to follow your dreams.

Remember to embrace who you are. I know middle school and high school will be really weird and you'll experience a lot of "awkward" moments growing up, but just enjoy being you. It might take some time to discover "you" but don't be discouraged and listen to that gut feeling you have, that you are unique and you do have a great purpose. One thing I love about you is your ability to see others for who they are and love their individuality. You appreciate uniqueness and you should strive to bring that out in others.

Don't get so caught up in boy issues so young. Be patient. You'll meet the man of your life and best friend later in high-school. He'll stick by your side, you'll do a lot of growing up together and you'll fall madly in love.

Lastly, take care of yourself. It's good to be healthy and to get some exercise. You have a lot of life to live and a lot of passions you're running after, so you'll need all the energy you can get.

Be fierce, be driven, be full of joy and grace. Be you.

Love,
Grown up Savannah

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We are celebrating Valentine's Day by writing love letters to our little selves. This idea stems from one of my favorite quotes by Kris Carr, “Picture yourself when you were five. in fact, dig out a photo of little you at that time and tape it to your mirror. How would you treat her, love her, feed her? How would you nurture her if you were the mother of little you? I bet you would protect her fiercely while giving her space to spread her itty-bitty wings. she’d get naps, healthy food, imagination time, and adventures into the wild. If playground bullies hurt her feelings, you’d hug her tears away and give her perspective. When tantrums or meltdowns turned her into a poltergeist, you’d demand a loving time-out in the naughty chair. From this day forward I want you to extend that same compassion to your adult self.” 

I have a handful of amazing bloggers lined up to share their letter to themselves over the next couple days. :) This Valentine's Day, take time to write little you a love letter. What are three things you would tell yourself? Show yourself some fierce love this month. ♥