The Best Christmas Present Ever

I had a few minutes of peace here and wanted to write about a very special gift Allie received this year. Anyone who has known Allison for very long at all knows about her "mamie". Her mamie is a very special blanket she's had since she was born. She chose it and named it and that's just the way it is!

Over the past four years or so mamie has become very ragged. After a multitude of washings "she" started falling apart. Allie has had a hard time coping whenever her mamie would break, but she usually recovered quickly and would give the smallest piece to whoever was closest to her. (Sometimes that would be someone at church or the store or the doctor's office.)

Anyhow, my creative mom decided that just wouldn't do. So she set out several months ago in search of a new mamie. She looked all over the internet, contacted Carters, everything . . . but no luck. I think it was in November that she sent me an email with a picture -- someone was auctioning off a mamie on ebay!

She bid on it and of course made sure to win it. Ethan and I were so excited for Allie. And then . . .

The seller accidently mixed up her packages and the mamie went to Florida! So, my mom sent countless emails to the seller and even the gal who received mamie, trying to work something out. After a couple of grueling weeks, she got the mamie back!

Now here is the part I think is really special. My mom wrote and scrapbooked an entire book for Allie called "The Story of Mamie". It detailed several "adventures" Allie has had with her blanket and why mamie is so special. It was so great watching Allie open her gift and freak out. She just giggled and giggled and giggled. :)

When I think of my mom, it reminds me of something I once read in a book. A woman writing about her mom said,

"She has a way of deliberately setting into motion an Occasion. . . which becomes a memory to cherish. Bless my mother, Lord.

And let me learn this, too, from her -- this knack of creating memories. It's a matter of caring. It's a matter of loving. Let me learn this, too, from her."