Thoughtful

It's great to have people who know you well enough to know how to give a gift that makes you happy and touches your heart. Tracy was recently the recipient of such a gift. Our kids are also very thoughtful gift givers. Here are some of the Christmas gifts I received this year. I believe that most of these ideas and the execution of them came from the girls, although I know that guys can give thoughtful gifts, too.

My mom has had one of these for awhile and I've always admired it and wanted one. Tracy made this one. For someone who claims to not be crafty, Tracy is always doing crafty things.

Shannon stayed up until 3:45 am on Christmas Eve/Christmas finishing this calendar made with pictures of our beautiful grandbabies. It brought tears to my eyes.

Emily designed and made this cross-stitch picture. She made almost all of the gifts they gave this year. Very creative, Em. I need to find a good place to display it.

I received TWO flannel nightgowns this year. Woo-hoo! For those of you who are uninformed, it's getting harder and harder to find real flannel nightgowns and they are getting more and more expensive. Rene and Joanna and Ben put in the time, effort and expense to get me these this year.

Over the summer, we played a game owned by one of Sarah's roommates called Rapid Recall. It is no longer made. I really enjoyed it, and looked to find it online. To my dismay, it's really expensive because it's "vintage." I had forgotten about it, but Sarah searched diligently and found it for me for Christmas.

Like my sister Susan, I have a foot that has been bothering me. I read about "Yoga Toes" and thought they would help. They are expensive, however, so I didn't get them. I told Janet about them and she searched around and was able to find a deal on them. Here is Ben, modeling them. Susan, you really need some. I think they do help.

In Matthew 7:11, we are taught that our Heavenly Father gives good gifts to them that ask him. It makes me happy to see our children emulating this Christlike trait.