9-08-07

My Bradley Neal:

Hey sweetie! How's the love of my life doing? Guess what? Jane has eleven teeth now, pretty exciting huh? A couple of days ago I found two more molars on the bottom. So, now she has two molars on the bottom, two molars on the top, four top front teeth, and three bottom front teeth. What a big girl! It's really helping her chew food and she loves it. We went to the beach yesterday with Erika, Jen, Todd, Grandy, Grandpa Paul, Jane, Maren, and a bunch of the other cousins. It was quite fun and Jane loved it! We are going to have so much fun taking her to the beach when you get back. She isn't afraid of the water anymore or of getting dirty. She waddles and crawls around in the surf and the water comes up and gets her wet then goes back down. Also, she gets totally covered in sand and just loves it. After awhile we took a break to have snacks (and this whole time she has been eating sand off her hands left and right). Jane had a Cheeto in one hand and a dried mango in the other and she was dipping them in the sand and then licking the sand off of the food. It was so funny! Needless to say, I just changed a very sandy poopy diaper. I gave her a bite of something I was eating so she got sand on it. Then when I took a bite, I ended up eating some sand. It was so gross and I was trying to figure out why it doesn't but kids more when they eat sand. Then I figured out that it doesn't bug kids as much because their teeth don't bite together like ours do and that's when it bugs us, when the sand grits between our teeth. But, since they have so few teeth, it doesn't bug them as much.

I feel like I haven't been talking about what you are writing me in your letters and I just wanted you to know how much I enjoy your letters. I got two in the mail from you yesterday and it made me so happy. Your letters are very entertaining and you do a good job telling me about what's going on with you and asking me about what's going on with me. Also, thank you for your scripture insight like I asked for, but I want you to know that you really don't need to stress about that. I know that your time is limited and I'm just so glad that you are able to write me anything at all. I get a letter from you just about every day, and when I don't get a letter from you one day, I usually get two the next day. You are the best husband a girl could ask for.

The lyrics for today are Dashboard Confessional's “Dusk and Summer” in honor of summer ending:

“She smiled in a big way, the way a girl like that smiles. When the world is hers and she held your eyes out in the breezeway down by the shore in the lazy summer. And she pulled you in, and she bit your lip, and she made you hers. She looked deep into you as you lay together quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer. But you've already lost, when you only had barely enough to hang on.

And she combed your hair, and she kissed your teeth, and she made you better than you'd been before. She told you bad things you wished you could change in the lazy summer. And she told you, laughing down to her core, so she would not cry as she lay in your lap. She said "nobody here can live forever, quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer. But you've already lost, when you only had barely enough to hang on.

She said, "no one is alone the way you are alone." And you held her looser than you would have if you ever could have known. Some things tie your life together, slender threads and things to treasure. Days like that should last and last and last. But you've already lost, when you only had barely enough of her to hang on.”

Last night Erika and I went shopping without the babies and it was very fun. It was fun to be a sister and a girl instead of a mom for a little while. Our main goal was to get business clothes for Erika because this weekend is her first business trip and she has to dress very professionally. However, she was not very successful, but I was. I got a lot of cute clothes and everything I got was on sale. I'm excited for you to see them. I got some shirts, some sweaters, and a skirt. Everything I bought was at Old Navy and I was really excited about the deals I got.

I love you so much Brad. I'm so glad that I have you in my life. Being with a lot of your family last week and then a lot of my family this week has really helped me see how lucky we are. We have such great families, and we are a great family. I feel so lucky to be able to have a family with you, I can't wait to see what adventures our life holds. Good luck with everything and let me know that I am thinking about you every second.

Love-Jess

P.S. I was just about to finish this letter up when you just called me on my cell phone and we got to talk for 30 minutes. That was so wonderful, I'm so glad that you passed your test so that you could have that talk time. I'm sorry you had to buy another calling card, since I just bought one. You would have had the calling card if your package had come. I'm pretty upset with UPS for not following through on that. I already called your parents and they're looking up the tracking number and we'll get it figured out. We'll get that package to you ASAP. Anyway, in case it doesn't come before you run out of minutes again, I printed up the calling card and I am including it in this letter.