“There is so much I hope to teach you, little one. I hope that I may do so by example, but I feel the needto put the words topaper as well. It is a quirk of mine, one which I expect you will recognize and find amusing by the timeyou read this letter.Be strong.Be diligent.Be conscientious. There is never anything to be gained by taking the easy road. (Unless, of course, theroad is an easy one to begin with. Roads sometimes are. If that should be the case, do not forge a new,more difficult one. Only martyrs go outlooking for trouble.)Love your siblings. You have two already, and God willing, there will be more. Love them well, for theyare your blood,and when you are unsure, or times are difficult, they will be the ones to stand by your side.Laugh. Laugh out loud, and laugh often. And when circumstances call for silence, turn your laugh into asmile.Don't settle. Know what you want and reach for it. And if you don't know what you want, be patient.The answers willcome to you in time, and you may find that your heart s desire has been right under your nose all thewhile.And remember, always remember that you have a mother and a father who love each other and loveyou.I feel you growing restless. Your father is making strange gasping sounds and will surely lose his temperaltogether if Ido not move from my escritoire to my bed.Welcome to the world, little one. We are all so delighted to make your acquaintance.”

“Don't settle. Know what you want and reach for it. And if you don't know what you want, be patient.The answers willcome to you in time, and you may find that your heart s desire has been right under your nose all thewhile.”

“All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems... But all these stars are silent. You-You alone will have stars as no one else has them... In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars will be laughing when you look at the sky at night..You, only you, will have stars that can laugh! And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me... You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure... It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh”

“Julia Kline, you’ve spent your whole life running and all you’ve done is run farther away from the love that’s been waiting for you all along. The first time you smiled at me with your two missing teeth you had my undivided attention. When you laugh, I want to laugh with you. When you cry, I want to be the one to hold you. When you said you loved me, you highjacked my heart forever. They say that love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. Your happiness is what I will spend the rest of my life striving to give you. I love you so much. Will you do the honor of marrying me?”

“My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning, and may be many; but you can overcome and outlive them all if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do that of your earthly one. The more you love and trust Him, the nearer you will feel to Him, and the less you will depend on human power and wisdom. His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength. Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows, as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother.”

“It's not politically correct to say that you love one child more than you love your others. I love all of my kids, period, and they're all your favorites in different ways. But ask any parent who's been through some kind of crisis surrounding a child--a health scare, an academic snarl, an emotional problem--and we will tell you the truth. When something upends the equilibrium--when one child needs you more than the others--that imbalance becomes a black hole. You may never admit it out loud, but the one you love the most is the one who needs you more desperately than his siblings. What we really hope is that each child gets a turn. That we have deep enough reserves to be there for each of them, at different times.All this goes to hell when two of your children are pitted against each other, and both of them want you on their side.”