The sweetest gift.

We went to Disney on Ice Friday morning.

It was an amazing show.

My driving skills in Raleigh were not so amazing but that is a different story. I like to drive in circles... that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :-)

I FINALLY got home Friday afternoon and there was a package waiting for me. My personal UPS man (aka husband) delivered a fabulous package.

This...


I looked at it. I looked at him.

I said, "You DO read my blog. I can't believe it. Did you order this for me?"

He looked at me like I was nuts. "No," he said.

I ripped open the box a little more to find the invoice.

It took me a minute to find the sender's name.

Then I saw it. The sweetest note ever.


In case you can't see it, it says "Just wanted to send you a Christmas present, but please consider this a token of appreciation for writing a fabulous blog. Hope you're family has a great Christmas! Melissa Beddard Eakes"

Yes, I may have shed a little tear. A tear of happiness of course.

Melissa and I went to ECU together. I was living with my parents at the time and still thought I was going to be a nurse one day. This was before the days of marriage and babies and all the stuff that comes with that. I had a few classes with Melissa and we really hit it off. She is an amazing person. She is genuinely sweet and it is hard not to be friends with her.

We recently reconnected on Facebook and she obviously reads my blog.

Anyway, it was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. It is an amazing gift of kindness. She said she was paying it forward for all the nice things people have done for her lately.

She will never know how grateful I am. Each time I use my awesome cookbook, I will think of her and the way she made my whole Christmas. If I don't receive anything else this year, my Christmas is complete.

Thank you so much again Melissa. You rock my socks, girl!