My favorite things

Brown paper packages tied up with ribbons

AND a super cute tea kettle to replace the boring silver one I left on the burner too long.

A very generous gift from Gran for our whole family…

But, my favorite gift of all was one that made me cry.

Remember this?

Weeks earlier, as Lydia and I walked Evan and Ashlyn to school, Lydia asked to go with them. The big kids and I laughed and started talking about what their day might be like if Lydia (aka our Chinese Curious George) joined them.

A few days later, Ashlyn won a Bingo game in school and chose the prize of a Mickey Mouse shaped pencil, one she was pretty excited about. But, then she got an idea. So, she asked her teacher if she could trade her already sharpened pencil for something else–a blank book. And, so she gave up her prize and  went to work so she could give us something very special.

Yup, I cried. Of course I did. And, I smiled till my cheeks hurt and gave lots of hugs.

And, though I’m an undeniable apple addict and may get warm fuzzies when I think about my brand new iPad 2 and all the neat cases, apps, and add-ons to try, my little handmade story written using a plain old No. 2 pencil makes my heart skip a beat.

And, hearts skipping beats tops warm fuzzies any day.