The Thought Behind It

This isn't meant to brag in any way about the wonderful birthday I was given, but to compliment the people who really know me, my likes and what makes me smile the most. I love love love to find the perfect gift for the special people in my life. I don't just run to the store and pick something up quick, I put a lot of time and thought behind the perfect gift and I love to see the look on their faces when they open it up. Giving is so much fun! Apparently the special people in my life do just the same. Here are some of the special gifts that I was given and my goodness there was a lot of thought behind them.

My grandfather makes the most amazing popcorn. I have the greatest childhood memories of spending weekends with my grandparents, renting movies and eating endless bowls of popcorn under a blanket they we call the "snuggle bunny". We invited my grandparents down last Saturday, but because of the snow storm they weren't able to make it. Roland was travelling through Lowville on Monday and was asked to stop in to my grandparents house and pick up a special birthday gift for me. My Gramp made me a big bag of fresh popcorn which I promptly ate the entire bag after going to Zumba. Wrong order, but who cares it was delicious and I enjoyed every bite. Thank you Grandpa, I love you tons!
I am not a huge dessert person. Don't get me wrong there are many many sweet treats that I enjoy, but I have a few that I enjoy the MOST. Chocolate covered strawberries have to rank in the top 5 so when I got a call from Kristen yesterday afternoon telling me to look inside my fridge I ran! This is what I found and I basically wanted to eat the entire box in one sitting, but I decided to pace myself. I only ate two last night, but boy were they delicious.
Thank you so much Kristen!

I was given this beautiful bracelet for Christmas from my MIL Bonnie so I have been slowly adding a few charms here and there. I have the boy and girl for Seth and Leah, a beautiful green glass bead and for my birthday my Mom bought me the heart and my husband bought me my birth stone. Justin also bought me a Pandora.com gift certificate so I can get something special. This is very special to me because when I look at it I not only think of the special people in my life, but the thought that went behind purchasing each and every charm.

Thank you all so very much!

It is no secret that Roland and I have been through the wringer last year. We came out of it with flying colors, but the tri-monthly trips to SYR are still a reminder that life is precious and we are truly grateful for the blessings in our life. Sheryl and Jess got this beautiful sweatshirt for me for my birthday and I flipping love it. I wear my Live Strong bracelet daily and this is just the best gift!

Thank you Sheryl and Jess!

You all know that I carry my camera everywhere that I go and that I love to capture every single moment of my life so I was given this beautiful mug for my birthday from Jen and it almost made me cry. It has the most beautiful picture of Leah, one of Seth and then one of the four of us. I have given many gifts like this, but it is my first time receiving one and I love it. I love to stare at my favorite people as I have a hot winter drink!

I was also given a wonderful gift of snowshoes from my husband, but I forgot to take a pic of them this morning. Since the winters around here are LONG so I have been trying to broaden my horizons and try new winter sports. We ski as a family now, but I thought that it would be very fun to try my hand at snowshoeing. Roland granted my wish!

Thank you to everyone who called, emailed, texted, sent cards and card with money (xoxo), facebooked and on and on... I feel very blessed and I thank you all so very much!