Pen Pals

I am always looking for new ways to connect with my girls. When you have a big family it can be difficult to always give each of your children the one on one time and attention they crave. I recently came across a great idea for my big girls ... we are going to be pen pals. I can't begin to tell you how excited my girls are about this; they were literally squealing with excitment when I introduced the idea to them. It was an idea that came from www.mama-jenn.blogspot.com/2010/11/mama-me-journal.html. I bought each of the girls a gorgeous hardcover notebook and then I wrote them a letter (the letter was a copy of the one I found on this site).

Both of them received the same letter which said ...

Dear Megan/Alison, Would you like to be my pen pal? Instead of mailing letters to each other, we can keep them here in this notebook. Does that sound like fun? I will write to you and then leave the notebook on your bed. Then, when you want to write back, you can begin writing on the next page and leave the notebook on my bed when you are done. You can write about anything! It can be funny or serious. Just write about whatever is on your mind. I am so excited and I hope that you are too! This is going to be fun. Something special just for the two of us to share. Love Mum xxx PS Write back soon.

I took the girls out to Gloria Jean's together for our favourite beverage ... white hot chocolate. (If you haven't tried it, do yourself a favour. It is so much better than regular hot chocolate.) Then I gave them their notebooks and I watched the smiles spread all the way across their faces to their sparkling eyes. Ali asked if I had a pen then and there to reply! I convinced them to wait until they got home to write me back. They did make one additional request ... that we hide the journals under each others pillows rather than just put them on the bed. This will avoid drawing the little girls attention to them (especially our youngest artist!) and it makes it a bit more secretive which appeals to them both.

Later that night, I found my first two letters. I won't share them here because they are just between us but the girls did give me permission to share a little of what they wrote.

Megan ... "This is going to be the best thing ever.....This way I can tell you things that I won't tell other people."

Alison ... "I love having a diary just between you and me. This is going to be great ... Write back soon."

And now I must go because I have two letters to write to my beautiful girls. Xx