December 16th

I was so stoked to receive some amazing artwork from my SS. She actually had her friend who sketches send them directly to me! How thoughtful! I really wasn't expecting anything yet so it was a lovely surprise to find them in my mailbox. I'm in love and can't wait to have them framed and hung in our home. I love cats and told her about my two kitties. The artist is named Barb Turner and has her own Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/barbaraturner2

Here's the link to the album! http://imgur.com/a/BFvAU

Thank you SS! It's such a beautiful gift! (And she says there is more to come!) WOW!

December 24th

Today I received my box from my SS! I now can thank them properly! I wasn't sure when it would arrive but after our Christmas service at church we got home and a big box was waiting for me on our doorstep! First off, my SS went above and beyond for me and I am so so stinking excited! I opened my gifts under the Christmas tree with my husband (who hasn't received his reddit gift yet). I was going to wait until he got his, but he encouraged me to open mine :)

I opened the box to beautifully wrapped and some unwrapped gifts. I was so excited and my husband documented the process. To begin I opened the beautiful card. It had a sweet message inside and also had NAIL DECALS of AUDREY HEPBURN! So Stinkin cute! I can't wait to put these on my nails. I love nail art and this is so so me!

The first gift I opened was a blue organza bag. It had a little note on it that said "I made this too." It was a glass pendant that looked just like my kitty Burby! Very pretty and very unique. The second gift I opened was a beautiful compact makeup mirror with Audrey Hepburn on it! I love that picture is different than the usual ones too! She said she made it as well! So creative and wonderful. I am going on vacation and will have to bring it everywhere I go! There were cute santa clause notepads, one for my fridge and the other perfect to throw into a purse! Each had a santa on them and said "Is Christmas fun or what?" Nail polish is my favorite and this cute nail polish by KB Shimmer. She had attached a note saying it looks great over blue (it's called Snow Much Fun). I then saw Milk Chocolate Truffles by Henry & David. These had a note that said "local product (wanted to get you some local tilberts/filberts but snow kept me from the bazaar)" These are HEAVEN! My husband and I ate some immediately. So good. I opened a beautiful box with roses engraved in it. Inside it said "Oregon Myrtlewood" This is something made from where she lives and it's so special. Inside was a Christmas tree pin made of glass. So pretty. I can't wait to place my jewelry in the box. Can there even be more? I unwrapped book plates for my large collection of books. These were on wish list and include quotes about books. They are stickers to personalize my book collection. A perfect gift for a book lover! My favorite bookplate was a quote from C.S. Lewis that says "We read to know we are not alone." I opened a beautiful cookbook that she had picked up in Amish Country. I love baking and cooking and COLLECT COOKBOOKS! How could she have known? So sweet. I am excited to try some traditional meals from it. Last but certainly not least I opened a beautiful tea cup. This delicate tea cup is so ornate and is of a peacock. It came with the cup, a spoon, and a matching saucer. I collect tea cups and can't wait to add this to my collection. How wonderful! I may have to have my Christmas tea in it tomorrow morning!

Wow-I'm so blown away at the time, money, and thought that went into putting my gift together. More than anything I'm touched that my SS got to know me and we became reddit friends. I love new friendships and will cherish this experience for years to come. Thank you so very much. You are so wonderful.

http://imgur.com/a/BFvAU