IT'S A GIRL!

Anlee Ray Jones
Born: December 28, 2013 at 6:56 p.m.
Weight: 6 lbs. 5.6 oz.
Length: 18 3/4 inches

Letters to My Unborn Child: A Grand Adventure

A long time from now, you’ll read this and hopefully understand. Until that day comes, this father can hopefully understand.

As you grow up, life will be full of new experiences. From your first steps and first words to your first kiss and your first love. You'll take out on these explorations in the dark, without knowing what's next...hoping everything turns out ok. A grand adventure.

Your mother and I wish every experience will be rich and rewarding for you like a cheesecake made of diamond puppies, but of course, we know that hardships are sure to come. The key is to learn from each misstep or broken road. Take the good with the bad, turn lemons into lemonade and all the other cliches. But my advice is to go a leap further.

Be relentless in your pursuit of the unknown. Fear not failure, but fear complacency.

As we grow older, we develop certain "patterns." Dates, times, places, people, tasks, errands all fall into a lockstep routine. While setting these schedules can be beneficial for a lot of things: eating, sleeping, work, Texas Longhorn football games...sometimes we develop a rut that we're not comfortable driving out of.

It's in these "patterns" that we lose our will to explore. It becomes second-nature to accept the well-worn path: in part, because it's a habit, but also because it's safe for our ego. No need to question something that already has an answer. We think "things must be done this way at this time at this place" - or else.

Please demand more from yourself than just the norm. My hope for you is to find the drive, the motivation to be something, be someone greater than expectations. But my child, don't be brash. Be aware that all risks come with consequences...and be willing to accept those consequences.

Life will take you on many journeys with different people and smells. Remember them all. Use your experiences as a guide, because like your parents' speeches, history will repeat itself. One of the toughest things to do is glance back, look forward and focus on the present all at the same time. 

In the wedding vows I made to your mother in 2011, I promised to not only to have and to hold, but to be bold. 

"My hope is that our love is never satisfied, always seeking more,

Every day to wake up with purpose, to not settle…but explore."

So as you go down life's road, always question where you're at. Greatness is out there, you just have to find it. A grand adventure.  

Love, Dad 

Poem for My Unborn Child: I Hope to Give You

To my unborn child, what I wish to give you in times to come,

happiness, wisdom, patience and a life filled with fun.

I can almost imagine you in my mind.

Beautiful and bouncing, flashing your mother’s smile so kind.

I hope you have my eyes,

Able to see the good in the world and in every moment, no matter what the surprise.

I hope you inherit your mother’s ability to plan.

With that you will be able to face all things in life as a strong woman or man.

I hope you learn from your mother, spirit and let no one take it.

Believe me you will need it in life, and many will try to break it. But with that spirit you must have your father's center.

Willing to open any door, but be cautious before you enter.

However, I want you to have my curiosity. 

There's nothing wrong with asking questions with velocity!

But receive your mother’s attention to detail, 

so you’ll be able to take anything big or small to scale.

Have your mother’s big heart; know what emotions are and how to be real.

But portion that with my strength so you can handle what you feel.

Share our sense of humor! Laugh a lot, it helps you through life.

But also develop a sense of duty. Know how to be serious and take strife.

But most of all the things I wish for your mother and I to share.

I wish we teach you to love, respect, strength of mind and to care.

These are my feelings, wishes and hopes for you. 

But the future is limitless for what you can do.

Letters to My Unborn Child: Finding Hope

A long time from now, you’ll read this and hopefully understand. Until that day comes, this father can hopefully understand.

Life is full of changes. Don't fear them, but embrace them. From the moment you mother and I first found out you were coming, everything changed.

We had been in our house in Camp Point for a year and a half, in the middle of fixing a flooded basement, and now we had to build a nursery. I was getting restless in my job at the TV station, and the news of you pushed me to make more time for this growing family...to find a new job. And as for the journey into parenthood itself, it brings a certain amount of uncertainty.  

With all these big changes, questions and worries, for me it brought a lot of self doubt that I've never experienced before. What do I do? Can I do it? What is it? Am I ready? I'll be honest, sometimes it all felt overwhelming. Like I was doggypaddling in syrup...moving a lot but still stuck.

I'm sure you will go through times like these. Your mind is mess, you can't sleep, sometimes can't eat, words fail you. But there is hope...there is always hope.

No matter how alone you feel, how painful it may be, with the help of those around you, you will get through this too. It will be ok. This worry may seem huge right now, but it will never be as big as it is at this very moment. A year from now, you will forget what you were even worrying about.

Perspective can be your worst enemy or your best friend. You can look at the tiny details or the big picture, but don't let what happened yesterday or what could happen tomorrow ruin today. Our fatigue is often caused not by our actions, but by worry, frustration and resentment.

Finding hope can be hard, but it is always there. Your mother and I will always be there for you. True friends will always be there for you. Sometimes what you need may be as simple as a hug, a word of encouragement, a great slice of pizza or a solid knock knock joke. Sometimes you may need someting bigger like a long walk, a short vacation or a completely different viewpoint. Look at it this way, changes are just challenges waiting to be conquered. In the end and in it's very essence, love is hope. Surround yourself with loved ones and hope will find you.  

Love, Dad 

It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down.  ~George MacDonald      

Letters to My Unborn Child: Get Excited

A long time from now, you’ll read this and hopefully understand. Until that day comes, this father can hopefully understand.

The moment your mom and I found out she was pregnant, there were so many emotions, but excitement overwhelms them all. After trying for so long, after so many failures, the gift of you came like Christmas morning. Your mother woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me the news…I’ve never had a better reason to wake up.

Excitement is a hard thing to describe but you can feel it with every fiber of your being. Butterflies in your stomach, goosebumps on your skin, heart beating out of your chest, wanting to get to the next moment so fast you forget to breath.

Excitement can bring out both good and bad things in yourself. Hope and self-doubt, wonderment and worry, all of these things shape who you are. But beware; anxiousness is just a shortcut to anxiety. Do your best to appreciate the moment, live in the now. Worrying about tomorrow just steals away today.

Early in your life, you’ll be excited for everything. Grandma’s cookies, puppy kisses, a game of tag, even a passing train’s whistle will seem like fireworks on the 4th of July. That childhood amazement is something I hope you never lose, but I know you will. For some reason, the requirements for excitement are forced higher and higher the older you get. Time has a way of fading bright and shiny things.

I write this at a time when I’m struggling to get excited for anything. Everyday life can weigh you down so much you can’t lighten up. Keeping your nose to the grindstone doesn’t allow you to smell the roses.

So my wish for you is the same thing I desire in myself: Get excited.

Enthusiasm is the key to success in anything you set out to achieve. Enthusiasm is something that attracts other people to you. Enthusiasm is hard to ignore.

It may be hard some days to find something to get excited for, but remember you may not have many days left. The sand is always falling from the hourglass, time is always running out. Appreciate the little things, embrace small victories.

An easy way to get excited is to try new things, no matter how small it may seem. From waking up 30 minutes earlier to meeting new people to (my personal favorite) eating the newest item on the fast food menu, change inspires excitement…and sometimes gas.

When you’re stuck in a rut or can’t escape chaos, bored or overwhelmed, take five deep breaths and don’t take them for granted. Realize life is special; life is a gift…that’s reason enough to get excited.      

Love, Dad