Dear Brooke Allen

Dear Brooke Allen,

You're almost here. I can't believe it.

I've been thinking a lot lately about all the things we'll need to do to provide for you. Not just with food, shelter, and clothing, but in life itself. Our home will be your classroom. Your personality will grow from what you learn from us.

I promise to make our home a happy home, brimming with love, imagination, and fun.

I promise that home will always be a place that you will feel welcome to be yourself. You will always be accepted and wanted.

I promise to tell you I love you every chance that I get. Life is too short to do otherwise.

I promise to love your daddy for the rest of our lives so that you will grow up in a home full of love and affection, and you will have an example to follow as you search for your husband.

I promise to read your favorite books to you at night until you can tell the story back to me without having to open the pages - and then we'll read them some more.

I promise to let you wear your princess dress to the grocery store.

I promise to pray for you as often as I can. I pray for you to be a strong woman with her own convictions. I pray that you will be compassionate and kind. I pray that you will always know love, whether you're receiving it from others or giving it away.

I promise to work hard every day at my job, so that you never have to go without.

I promise to make shampoo sundaes on your head in the bathtub.

I promise to provide boundaries so that you will have fun within limits.

I promise to let you learn from your mistakes.

I promise to make you peanut butter and jelly pocketbooks.

I promise to play with your hair until you fall asleep.

I promise to scare away all the monsters in the closet and under the bed.

I promise to not only take you to church on Sundays, but to live church in our home, so that you'll always understand the grace and love of Jesus.

I promise to tell you that boys are silly and that you're too good for him when you come home with a broken heart.

I promise to turn off the tv and computer and make you go outside to play.

I promise to let you watch Cinderella as many times as you want.

I promise to teach you the value of money and the treasure in earning it for yourself.

I promise to write notes on your napkin in your lunchbox.

I promise that I will never be too busy to talk.

I promise that I will do my best to give you a little brother or sister that you can love and torture.

I promise to never stifle your imagination.

I promise to memorize all your baby doll's names.

I promise to protect you from all that I can, and teach you to protect yourself for when I can't.

I promise to teach you about GOOD music, which does not include Justin Beiber or Lady Gaga.

I promise to give you my honest opinion, from haircuts to boys to friends.

I promise to not let you embarrass yourself on American Idol if you sing like your daddy.

I promise to let you eat cookies and candy bars, but not before dinner.

I promise to encourage you to be YOUR best in everything, even if someone else is THE best.

I promise to not let you quit a sports team until the season is over.

I promise to be your best friend, even though you won't realize this until you're much older.

I promise to let you choose what college you want to attend, even if it is Auburn - but they must give you scholarship money for me to be happy about that. And if you decide not to attend college, I'm going to be ok with that, too, as long as you're doing what you love and it's not illegal.

I promise to do everything in my power to be the best mom I can be to you. There are going to be times that you don't like my rules or limits, but I promise to hold fast to them so that one day you will understand.

And most of all, I promise to tuck you in like a burrito and kiss your stuffed animals and you goodnight. Every night.