Blessed Gifts

Josie turned 10 months today! That means in 2 months from now, we'll be celebrating a landmark birthday! We're very excited, but haven't yet made plans on how to celebrate. However, Greg and I have been discussing what presents she'll receive. We originally were going to get her her first doll, as a special gift, but decided that she is ready for one now :) So we recently bought her the first "baby" (we'll post pictures soon, she's really sweet with it!).

Since we bought her a special toy already, and I've already made her 2 blankies, I was at quite a loss on what we should give to her. God has been convicting me over how much emphasis I have been placing on her gifts. I've now realized that I can create her some memorable gifts using the creative skills he has blessed me with. Fortunately, this will be inexpensive since we have most of the supplies. So here's what we have decided to do.

I am creating a scrapbook of her first year, not for my own to keep, but for her to have. Greg will also pitch in his artistic creativity to personalize some pages (we have created a scrapbook together in the past). Within it I will have letters written from all the close family, which will remain closed until she's old enough to read and cherish them. We're also going to make a "Josie montage" so that her first year of videos will not make for a boring, uninteresting evening of family movies. But that she would find enjoyment as she watches a shorter clip of favorites from her as an infant. Lastly, I will buy a journal for her. A friend of mine told me how she journals for her children, and ever since, I have been intrigued with the idea of journaling my thoughts for her. Some tangible way for her to see how God is transforming me as a woman of faith, a wife, and a mother, so that she can look back in years to come to see inside of who I was at this stage in my life. I'm not sure how often I'll write in it, but that'll be worked out after I find the right journal. Greg has agreed to write in it as well, so basically it'll be a way to write "letters" of wisdom and love to our daughter.

So wish us luck with finding the time to complete these special gifts. I pray that our hearts remain joyful as we prepare them, and that we will not become over-whelmed or constricted by time. I am ok with presenting half-completed gifts for her birthday. The gifts won't mean anything if in preparing them we are sinning. I am looking forward to spending the next 2 months really looking back at this past year and how the Lord has blessed us with the most special gift in our precious child!