Early Christmas from Grace!

This week Grace's school is hosting Santa's Secret Workshop. You can send money in an envelope & show who she can buy for & how much she can spend on each person. I remember doing this in elementary school so I was excited for her to be able to participate as well. She was so excited when she got in the car that afternoon! I wondered how long she would be able to hold on to her presents before she broke down & gave them to us! As soon as she got in the car she began telling me all about the gifts & how many things she got each of us. Then she asked if she had to wait until Christmas morning to give us our gifts. I told her it was completely up to her. She said OK. As soon as she got home she ran off to her room to go through her goodies. She asked me for gifts bags, tissue paper & gift tags so that she could wrap them all up. She was so funny because by this time I already knew what she had gotten for everyone else & I knew (without her even realizing she told me) that I had gotten some sort of ornament & some type of jewelry!! The anticipation was hard for her!!


It wasn't long before she was giving out the first gift!! She gave Toby his gift first...he got a new rope toy! She was so excited that he ran off with it to play!!

The next gift was given to Luke. He had just woken up from his nap & she wasted no time! He was excited even though you can't tell in all of the pics!

He really was happy despite the way he looks here...

She waited to give mine & Darren's gifts to us until he got home from work. She made him give me one of my gifts & then scripted him on how to act & what to do! Hilarious!! Now, I must tell you that she went to school with $20... She got 7 gifts in all & came home with .15 cents! (That info will help you on the monetary value of each gift!) My first gift was a pair of diamond earrings!! I wanted to cry...not because "oh man, I'm really going to have to wear these things" but because my 6 year old little girl remembered that I have always wanted a pair of diamond earrings & she saw them & knew that it was the perfect gift for me! You could see the emotion in her eyes...they danced with pride, but had that "I hope she likes them" look deep within. I couldn't have been happier...seriously! I immediately put them on & she beamed! I will wear them often & will keep them forever simply because it was the first time Grace picked out a gift for me all by herself. My next gift was a snowman ornament that said "Mom" on it. It will go on my tree year after year!!

Darren was next on the gift parade! He received the same snowman ornament only his said "Dad" on it (obviously)!! :) She prefaced it with "I know you are probably jealous that Mommy got a snowman ornament so I got you one, too! :) It was greatness!! She then gave him his next gift which was a blinking snowman jingle bell necklace!! That is definitely better than a blinking snowman jingle bell tie for sure!! She helped him open it & try it on, but then it wasn't long before she was asking to borrow it!! :) That girl makes me smile!!

So, our plain ol' evening was turned into a special gift giving time in which our Gracie girl showed off her buying skills & presented us with things that she specifically picked out for us! Not once did she get sad that there wasn't anyone giving her a gift. She experienced true giving & it was fun to see just how happy it made her! We'll treasure our new gifts for many years to come!!