Thank You, Tracey, Crystal, And Becky!

I want to shout out a BIG thank you to Tracey at the Grace Comes By Hearing blog!

Daniel brought the mail in the other day and handed me another package with a frog on it. (Shiver!) ;)

I opened it up, and this is what was inside the package.....



Isn't Tracey the most thoughtful and sweet lady?...I mean if you don't count the cotton balls. (Shiver.) ;)

Tracey, if you are reading this, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness; I have just been so touched by your kindness to me. You are a very special lady, and I am thankful and blessed to call you friend.

I also want to say, "Thank you, Crystal!" She gave me this beautiful bloggy award that you see here.



Upon receiving this award, I'm supposed to tell you about "Things that make me happy."

But, since I am a very visual person, I will show and tell you what makes me happy, as opposed to "just" telling you.;) (And these are in no particular order, just so you know.)

My family.....



My sweet boys....



My Allie Girl.....



My handsome hubby......



Blogging and all of my "bloggy" friends.....



And of course, all of my "real life" friends, especially Kenny......;)



One more award before I go. This award came from Becky. Isn't it cute?



Sigh.

Thank you, Becky! I love your blog too! (I'm sorry it took me so long to get this posted.)

And instead of trying to just pick a few of my bloggy friends to pass these awards to, I want you all to have them. Every single one of you are unique and have your very own special blogging style, and I love each and every one of your blogs. So, go ahead, take these beautiful awards! You deserve them!;)

"There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound." ~Diana Cortes

Birthday Blessings And Bloggy Buddies!

I told you all about my special day with Yvette and Tina. (If you missed that post, you can click here to read about it.)

In that post, I told you all that I would show you the birthday gifts that they brought for me, as well as tell you about my Tina's Vera Bradley purse in "Frankly Scarlet" that I want very badly.

Sigh.

So without further ado, here are the pictures of my special gifts.
I love, love, love pretty gift bags, so, of course, I took a picture of these.



Aren't they pretty?

Yvette, knowing how much I dislike them, loves to tease me with frogs. So, she gave me this stuffed frog that belonged to her grandmother who recently passed away. (I thought that was so sweet.)



I will have to add this frog to my collection around the house that reminds me to "Fully Rely on God."



Yvette also gave me the romantic movie P.S. I Love You along with the tissues that I will need for the uncontrollable sobbing that she said I would most likely do.



Sigh.

These wonderful gifts were also accompanied by a card that throws me a big loud birthday kiss! I loved it! ;)

Shannon and I were supposed to go see P.S. I Love You at the movies around Christmas, but life got in the way, and we never made it to the theater, so I was thrilled that she bought this movie for me. I love me some romance!;)

Tina's gifts were also absolutely perfect. Well, I mean if you don't mention the cotton balls.



(Shiver.)



I'm kidding; I loved that she thought of doing that to tease me. She knows about my "issues" with cotton balls, so it was hysterical to see a bag of them along with the other gifts.

(Shiver.)

Tina is obviously (like Yvette) a girl after my own heart. She brought me the Mamma Mia soundtrack, along with a Starbucks gift card.



Sigh.

I had just been tempted to buy that soundtrack at Target on the very same day, so imagine my surprise when I opened her present.

Sigh.

Last but not least, here is a picture of my Tina's Very Bradley purse in "Frankly Scarlet."



Sigh.

Since she seemed to know exactly what I would want for my birthday (not counting the cotton balls of course), I just felt certain when I saw Tina walk up with my that purse, that she brought that especially for me. But we got so carried away with talking and giggling all night, that I think she accidentally took it home with her instead of leaving it with me.

So Tina, don't feel bad about taking off with my Vera Bradley purse in "Frankly Scarlet." Now that you know my address, you can just pop it in the mail to me.

I'm just saying is all.;)

Even though I loved all of the gifts that Yvette and Tina brought me for my birthday, the greatest gift that they gave me was the gift of their friendship. I was so touched that they both took time away from their families and drove all the way out to Crazyville just to make my evening special. There is no better gift than that, my bloggy buddies.

~ Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends. ~



Tina and Yvette, thank you both for making me feel so special. You are two of the loveliest ladies that I have ever had the privilege to meet. You are both such a blessing to me.

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

One last thing before I go, yesterday, my son brought in the mail, and I had a postcard from my sweet blogging buddy, Valerie. She recently went to the "Siesta Fiesta" in San Antonio, Texas, with her daughter Kristen. And while she was there, she bought this card to send me.



And this is what she said.



Sigh.

Isn't she the sweetest thing? Valerie, thank you for thinking of me and for your prayers. You are a doll, and I'm just crazy about you. Thank you so much for your kindness to me.

Sigh.

James 1:17
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Thank You All

I wanted to take a little time this morning to say thank you for all of the cards, well wishes, and prayers that I have received since having my surgery.
Here is a picture of just a few of the many that I have received.



Each time I have read a handwritten note, a comment on my blog, or a letter in my email has meant so much to me. Not being able to leave the house for so long and do the things I normally do has been difficult to say the least. But I have received so much encouragement from all of you, and that has helped make this time of healing so much easier.

Paula and Tracey, I want to say a special thank you to both of you as well; I am just blown away by your thoughtfulness to me. You have both been such a blessing.

This week the boys and I were startled by the sound of a car honking in our front yard. Matthew looked out the window and realized that it was the mail man. He had a package for us.

He ran out to get the mail, and he returned with a box. He said, "Mom, it's something for you!"

I thought to myself, "I didn't order anything...."

So I was naturally very curious to see what was inside this box.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this.....



Along with these things......



Yvette is one of the most thoughtful people that I have never met in real life.
I had mentioned to her not long ago that I had a big Fozzie Bear collection, and of course, she knows about my hatred feelings concerning frogs.
I was blown away by the time she took to put this package together for me.

And if the surprise in my mailbox was not enough, today, I get to meet her in real life. Yvette and her mom are coming all the way to Crazyville to visit with me and my family, and of course, Allie.

I am so excited!

And obviously I will take pictures and take notes so that I can tell you all about it.

(Mia, if you are reading this......I want to give you fair warning......Apparently Yvette is an even better stalker than me; the two of us together could be dangerous.
So if I were you, I would not be surprised at all if the two of us show up on your door step one day. I'm just saying is all.)

I am a blessed girl indeed to have so many bloggy friends that pray for me, and I just want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.

You are all such a blessing to me.

Philippians 1:4
"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy."