The past few weeks have been a bit of a trial for me with work and life and most recently falling ill and ending up at the hospital (home and doing better now!) and now making sure all of our family in Christchurch and Canterbury are safe after the most recent quakes.

But-! Everything has picked up and as Walt said-- adversity, troubles and trials make you stronger (although I can't deny that I was starting to feel run down.) Thankfully, all of those feelings magically lifted (Disney Magic?) when an amazing parcel arrived at my door late late last night! Snuggling into bed with my kiwi and kitties, a lump formed in my throat when I saw a sticker on the parcel telling me that the Japan Post customs had opened and inspected the package...........thankfully everything was there and had been repacked neatly (although out of order! Oh no! DX )

Carefully opening the package, reading the lovely handwritten message from my Santa, and unpacking the contents-- a felt /another/ lump form in my throat and tears in my eyes-- my Santa had put so much thought and consideration into my gifts and it meant the world to me. She took my interests and my Disney exchange information into serious consideration when picking out each part of the parcel. Now, please let me share with you the lovely and amazing gifts in the order she intended.

First-- a lovely and thoughtful handwritten card detailing and explaining a bit of the process behind each gift. I love handwritten notes~!

Items 1&2 are beautiful matching cups of Ariel (for the days I feel like a princess!) and Ursula (for the days I feel like a sea witch!) The Ariel cup came with an adorable set of reusable shell-shaped ice cubes. The picture on this cup is likely the most beautiful picture I've ever seen of Ariel; it's really stunning. The Ursula cup (they aren't kidding when they call her, well, a witch!) is beautiful as well AND it glows in the dark. Who doesn't love glow in the dark?

Item 3 is a beautiful Thomas Kinkade Disney wall calendar. Beyond the gorgeous art, the calendar lists the major holidays for New Zelanda, Australia, the U.K. And Canada-- covering family and my best of friends. <3

Items 4&5 are a 1-2 combo against the cold (desperately needed here in Japan, land of no central heating or insulation in buildings.) They are a collection of fantastically cute Disney Princess socks (cute socks are so important here as you're always taking your shoes off!) and a Tsum Tsum throw blanket (possibly the softest I've ever felt.) Santa-- living in snowy, snowy northern Japan-- these are going to be lifesavers!

Item 6 is probably the part of the parcel that made my jaw hit the floor. It's a set of handmade HUGE Little Mermaid perler art! The set includes Ariel in her iconic blue dress and ribbon (an outfit that heavily influences some of my art and character design when I draw today), Prince Eric (his boots and eyebrows!), and perhaps the crown jewel-- Ursula in her fierce, tentacled glory.

My lovely Disney-Santa/Faerie Godmother-- thank you so so much from the bottom of my heart for these amazing and thoughtful gifts. You sent an amazing parcel filled with my own little wonderful world of Disney all the way from Canada to here in Japan. You've brightened my spirit and made me smile. Truly, I was so lucky to have you for this exchange. PS- you may also have the coolest and cutest reddit name ever. Hakuha Matata! <3