Leah's Christmas Mission

She woke up this morning, fully and completely 3 years old . . . with a Christmas mission on her mind.

"Mommy, I want to do arts & cracks" (aka crafts)

What I wouldn't give to know how long she had been thinking all of this up in her brain, or if it all just kind of grew from this one small idea to make something for Zac & Nathan (her 8 year old cousins who hung the moon).

So we made 2 Christmas cards with glue & glitter and pom pom balls and markers . . . a zebra for Nathan & a camel for Zac! This was serious card making . . .

When Leah was finished & waiting for them to "dry up", she decides that Zac & Nathan also need presents to go with these crafty cards. So, I told her we could go to the store and buy them each a little something from her.

"Great idea Mom" , she says emphatically just like her favorite Eloise character!

She then, all by herself with no prompting from me, hurries up stairs . . . I assume to dress or play or something. But within minutes I hear her yelling for me to come and "help please, I'm too shorts". She couldn't reach her pink piggy bank on a shelf in her closet and then I understand where this all going. So I help move the idea along. I show her how to sort quarters and put them in her new shiny purse (a birthday present from Graylyn).

Then we hit a little high end boutique (Dollar Store) to pick out her gifts for Zac & Nathan . . . and as I suspected, her brain went to town. She found rather thoughtful and absolutely precious gifts for just about everyone else as well.

She handed the sweet and patient cashier the items

. . . one at a time . . .

and then her 8 quarters

. . . one at a time . . .

(mommy funded the rest)

and as we headed out she loudly & very proudly exclaims,

"Now we must go and wrap them!"

(did she just say we must? Clearly her Mary Poppins movie is rubbing off)

and wrap them, she did . . .!

So if you get a gift picked out, paid for, and wrapped by little Leah Noel this Christmas, then you must know it is truly a gift from the heart. And if you do not get one, then it's simply because we ran out of quarters.

Merry Christmas!

Remember the true gift