Dear Lucy

Dear Lucy,

Today is your birthday - the real one, where you make your entrance into this wonderful world.  I cannot tell you how heavily you have been anticipated.  We have thought about you and looked forward to your arrival from the moment your brother was born almost three years ago, and when we found out you were on your way, we were so very happy.

I knew from the moment I discovered I was pregnant that you were a girl.  I can't explain how, but it's true.  Ask your daddy (who scoffed right up until the sonogram, when it was obvious you were a girl).  I have worried and fretted about you like I never did with your brother because you are a girl.  Since I am a girl, I know just how hard it can be.  But the good news is that you were created in the Image of the God of the Universe, Who wove you together in my tummy and Whose hand is on you today and every day of your life.  Sometimes it's hard - especially for girls - to keep from seeking the approval of the world around you.  I promise that your daddy and I will do everything we can to help you understand that you need no approval except God's.  I pray today and for the rest of your life that you will grow to understand that, and to seek to follow after Him with everything you are made of (which, considering your gene pool, is some pretty great stuff, if I do say so).

You are named for two very special people.  The first is a work of fiction.  Lucy Pevensie is the star of my very favorite series of books, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.  One day, we will read them together and you will discover that, while Lucy doesn't always do as she should, she is the most faithful follower of the King of all the other humans in the story.  She is also the youngest and often overlooked.  But she is a wonderful character, and one of my favorites in all of literature.

Your middle name is your great-grandmother's - Clara Jean Blankenship.  She is your daddy's-mommy's mommy.  Since your daddy and I grew up together, I remember her vaugely, but she died when your daddy was young.  He wanted your middle name to be Jean after her.  Someday, he and your nana can tell you all about her.

Well, it's 7:00 AM and we have to be at the hospital in two hours to start getting ready to meet you.  I can hear your daddy's alarm clock going off upstairs, but before I go, I want to tell you just a bit about your big brother.  Even though he doesn't quite understand, he knows who you are.  He knows you are in my tummy - he has often asked to "pet Mommy," which is where he comes and pets my tummy and says "Hi baby Lucy."  I am excited to see the two of you together, and even more excited for the days when you are older and you can count each other among your very best friends.

I love you, dear baby girl, and I can't wait to meet you.

Love,
Mommy