Thanks

S, (here's her blog) I know you've been waiting to see this on our blog... well, I finally got it, you know me, impatiently waiting since you first let the cat out of the bag that you were going to make it!

We love the hat, we love that it's not all girly pink and such, though we know, that inspite of our intentions to raise a tomboy, we'll likely raise a very girly girl! Too cute. The shine of the yarn, the pattern and the pom pom, too cute. I wish I could have made something more personal for you.

I cannot express how much hand made things mean to us. They convey the willingness to go the extra mile, to take the time (so few people take time to do anything nowadays) to try and express yourself beyond just signing a card. In my family growing up, we all cherished the hand made gifts, we all still do. Our fondest memories at Christmas and other gift giving times of the year revolve around the most personal of items, made with love. Even my mishapen figurine of clay made in art class as a 5th grader still sits on my mom's desk at home. That's just who we are, we cherish time, personal touch and things like that more than anything else. It's way too often people say 'we don't have the time', 'maybe next year', it could be for the simplest of requests or for the most needy of circumstances, reminds me of the song by Cat Stevens... I'll post on that tomorrow maybe.

I am grateful to have met you and I'll never forget you no matter how infrequent our paths might cross in person. You understand me and I understand you. Our pain is not identical but our caring is. I have another 'lurker' online, her name is Jen, she's walked our shoes, just last November 3, 2005. If she's reading this too, know you aren't alone though you may feel lonely. We're here if you ever need us.

Thanks so much for our first offical gift for our baby, from someone we knew (SEcret Pal we know you're out there, we just don't know who you are!!!). It's a wonderful feeling finally, again, to be able to enjoy planning for our child. I know you understand what that's like Sarah, we both do.

The second item on the this post is the cutest of cards from N wishing E a speedy recovery since he'd been sick recently. The card is from Hallmark (online?), though I don't ever recall seeing one "quite" like that (check out the 'thing' on the left of the turtle, can you read the writing?). We had a good laugh about that, Hallmark sure has come a long way! All kidding aside, this is so touching to recieve and means so much to E and I. We love getting cards from N (J) and the pictures are priceless, check out the one of her on the inside cover. Love it.

Man, we love these cards, I had one for Mother's Day too. It brought tears to my eyes and incredible joy. That she took the time to think of me as I cried my eyes out that day, to know it would be such a horrible day but they understood that to ignore it would have been worse. J, another sister-in-law K and my dear childhood friend K all let me know I was in their thoughts on Mother's Day, a day to remember all mothers no matter how long their children lived. They recognized that length of life is not a measure of motherhood, I'm thankful for their kindred spirits.

It's one of the many things I really admire and enjoy about J, she has a heart, a sense of passion for people and cares deeply, but doesn't just care, she shows it. She understands without being in someone's shoes what they may be thinking, how they may be feeling, she's willing to talk about things and always cares enough to ask beyond just the 'hey, how's it going' we all get too easily caught up on.

Though J is quiet, she is deep and caring, I'll never mistake her quietness for anything but her depth of character and her love for people around her. She reminds me it's perfectly ok to be quiet, private, deeply caring and concerned about others.

THanks J and S for your gift of time and thoughtfulness.