FRODO SEVEN : Grace's Gift

Grace's birthday gifts have all been opened, played with and, a couple, I am sorry to say, are already broken. My favorite gift of the year was one that she opened way back in July from her godfamily. My sister Tara is her godmother and she gave Grace her gift along with this note: "Dear Grace, Happy 5th birthday! We got you this box to hold all your special treasures. To start you off, we each picked out something special of ours to give to you." She went on to explain each of the "treasures"*.

*Some of the objects pictured may not be the originals.

This one is from Brendan. Brendan aspires to be a Navy Seal or a Marine and loves playing with army men so this was appropriate.

Lauren donated a princess because "I like it."

The medal was from Ryan who likes the number one.

Baby Sean chose a ball because that's his favorite thing.

Lawrence put in this screwdriver and I like what he wrote so I'll quote him: "I picked out a screwdriver because it is a really useful tool and my hope for you is that you always have the tools you need to succeed in life."

Tara put in this stone which I am keeping safe for Grace. It's special to me because of what Tara wrote: "I put in the rock with the bear claw your daddy gave to me 15 years ago! In the note that came with it he wrote 'This stone is painted with a special Native American symbol--the bear claw. It means strength. I wish you strength in all you do and all you face in life. Keep this stone as a symbol of your strength--a strength that comes from God'."

Tara is training for a marathon so I was skeptical about taking her strength stone back to Texas. I was also amazed because I never knew about this stone or the note Chris wrote my little sis' way back when. What a great guy. And how incredibly cool that it meant enough to Tara for her to have it 15 years later.