I woke up that morning knowing I could be pregnant. So I pulled out the Dollar Store test from under my sink and impatiently waited the 3 minutes. Full of hope that I would see two pink lines. And there they were – as bright as ever! My heart exploding with joy inside of me for the new life growing inside of me! Ironically that same day was the day I had a meeting with a children’s book publisher to pitch 3 ideas for my potential first children’s book.
As I stood in the shower (where all great ideas come from) I had an idea come to mind. “Has anyone written a children’s book about pregnancy”? I had never seen one before. And then 4 words came to my mind. “I Grew With You”. Sweet and simple, yet packed with meaning. “Maybe it could even be a rhyming book” I thought.
As I finished up my meeting with the publisher I told them I had one other idea to share. When I shared it he said “That’s the one…that’s the book you need to write”! I knew it too. And so “I Grew With You” was born that day!
Over the next months of my pregnancy I felt like I was birthing 2 babies. One in the form of my actual child and the other on paper. It was so special to me to think about the growth happening inside me, in our family, in my heart and express that all in a sweet way for this book-to-be. Countless nights were spent on the couch rhyming different words, counting syllables, laughing about the things women experience during pregnancy and crying about the moment they meet their sweet child.
All of it wrapped up in this lifelong childhood dream of mine. I can still see that curly red-headed girl sitting in her pink bedroom plastered with Dalmatian posters. She would write songs and poems and stories convinced they were amazing. Not knowing one day her story would actually come to life and her dream would be realized.
“I Grew With You” is a lot of things. It’s a dream, a journey, an encouragement, an experience, an emotion. It’s born out of my own journey of becoming a mother and it’s my gift to my own children. And I pray it’s a gift to you as well. May it bless your home and remind you of just how special your own journey to motherhood is and was.
Between the words on the page and the beautiful illustrations by our talented artist Anastasia, I hope this is a book that will be a treasure to your bookshelves for years to come and one you think of whenever you go to a baby shower and bring a gift.
Thank you for cheering me on and being a part of this journey- even if you just became a friend yesterday! I’m thankful for you.
A loving thanks to Tim- for always listening to me repeat lines over and over and encouraging me in every moment of writing. And to our 6 boys who inspired it all. Also a very special thanks to my publisher Good and True Media who didn’t know me from the man on the moon, yet took a chance on me and guided me through writing my first book. It has been an honor to work alongside you and see this come to life.