Every year on New Years Day I open a letter that I wrote to myself the year before. Then I write myself another letter to be opened in one year. This has been a fun tradition. At no other time is it so clear how much has happened (or not happened) in a year when I read that letter. For the last several years I have seen dramatic improvement and change in all areas of my life. And so I would like to do a 2011 in review for our blog and then write a little bit about what I hope for 2012. Then in January 2013, we can see how we did. 
Dear Gift of Giving Life readers,
It has been an thrilling year. We thought we’d have a book out, but it took longer than planned so it is not out yet, but it is DONE! It comes out in February/March, and ooh it will be worth the wait. I think I might cuddle with mine when I finally get a copy.
Some other good things that happened this year that are quantifiable:
- Our Facebook fans went from about 85 to 330.
- In 2011, our monthly active users on Facebook went from about 46 to about 1500/month.
- We switched to a new blog format where all our authors are contributing and where we post birth stories regularly.
- We made an official book website.
- We started pre-sales and have already sold in the triple digits. Yay!
- We have blurbs and reviews already.
- In 2011 we had 4 babies between us.
- Our blog had 13,000 unique visitors to our old site, and I’m not sure what the number is on our new site (we switched over in October).
My predictions for 2012 are that pretty soon after the book is out, our FB numbers will double, and double again by the end of the year. We will likely get inundated with wonderful birth stories and emails and maybe even a few haters. (All people doing great work have haters. So I figure we might get a few. We will send them love and light.) Our intentions for 2012 are to sell thousands of copies of the book and change the world one birth at a time.
I’m predicting that most of 2012 will be spent promoting the book, but we have already conceived a spiritual childbirth education class that we plan to develop and train teachers. So we might also work on that and maybe that will be further along by the time you open this letter.
In 2012 I plan to write a business proposal for The Gift of Giving Life documentary so that I can start raising money and get investors. This documentary will be for all audiences and will be about the spirituality of birth in different cultures and religions. That is my next baby. I hope the finish the proposal in 2012 and start hustling for money in 2013. But who knows, maybe you are reading this and have $100,000 extra dollars and were looking to greatly diversify your portfolio and you want to invest in an awesome documentary and then you can cut my work load in half. If so, let’s be in touch.
I estimate we will have a few more human babies, too. So far we have only one of us in the family way–due in June, unless anyone else wants to fess up that they are pregnant. I have my suspicions, but I’m keeping them to myself. Interesting. Just after I typed that sentence, my cousin called me and the second words out of her mouth were “I’m pregnant.” Apparently my telepathic message went far and wide. If anyone else wants to announce their 2012 baby here, please do so. We’d love to share in your joy.
I think we should come up with a name for them—these babies born under the influence of the Gift of Giving Life. Perhaps “Gift-babies.” If you had or are having a gift-baby, please post it here in our comments.
I anticipate that by the time you open this letter, there will be thousands of Gift-babies and gift-mommas joining you in community, many of whom have shared their birth stories here. And I hope that their spiritual consciousness about birth begins to enlarge our communities and the understanding of people and practitioners everywhere.
By the time you read this letter again in 2013, I hope we have far exceeded even these my wild imaginings. I know that we can and I can’t wait to see how it happens.
Much love,
Felice
It really is encouraging to see how far things have come. Bring on 2012!
What a fabulous letter. You’re so fun, my friend. And my “gift-baby” is truly a gift. This project has truly been a gift. I am so grateful I was privileged to be a part of it!
Looking forward to my “pre-sales” copy of the book! I suppose everyone else has used the phrase “labor” of love. Good luck with your next “baby” the documentary, and may all your predictions be beautifully fulfilled.
I love the predictions! I will say if we have another baby it will definitely be a gift-baby as in being a part of writing this book and then reading it to help edit it, my heart and mind were open even more to having another one. If only I could get DH to read the book! Maybe as scripture study???? 🙂
Ooh. He’ll read it. And we’ll see what happens then, won’t we. Even if you don’t have another real baby, perhaps just having your heart open is enough and you’ll be blessed with what kind of baby to have next. I hope I have a gift baby. But we’ll see. I am open to whatever God blesses me with.
If you set up a childbirth class series focused on the spirituality of birth, you can be assured that I would be one of the participants!!!
Maybe it’s the postpartum hormones, but I got teary-eyed reading this! I feel so blessed to have played my small role in this project. My gift-baby is almost one month old. I really opened myself up to learn whatever lessons the Lord wanted her birth to teach me, and was given some beautiful gifts of understanding. I would love to be involved with the spiritual childbirth education program when that happens!
We’re so happy you were a part of it. Your piece was so necessary and inspired. I hope I get to meet your baby one of these days. xo
My gift-baby is due at the end of March. It is our seventh child. We are looking forward to our second unassisted (actually angel assisted) homebirth. I look forward to your book and love to read your blog!