~Glorious Cherries on a Cold, December Day~

I believe the most treasured gifts 

are the ones that take us by surprise.

Little acts of kindness,

when we are least expecting it.

And this morning,

a treasured gift was waiting for me

when I opened up my mail!

A sweet woman named Carrie

and her 11 year old daughter sent

me something totally unexpected,

but-oh-so 

treasured!

Carrie and Gracie have been following 

From My Front Porch,

since right before Annie was born.

Even though Carrie is not a blogger,

she and Gracie always make sure they zip

off an email for each post I write.

And as you can imagine, 11 year old Gracie

adores Annie and all of her antics :)

{Gracie even calls herself and her mom, 

"Team Brutus"! 

They really love all the trouble

that fat-footed cat gets himself into!}

Not quite 3 years ago, Carrie's husband and Gracie's father

very unexpectedly died at age 43.

And in searching for help with grief,

Carrie found herself reading the blogs of

other women who had walked the same road.

One night while blog-hopping, Carrie found a blog 

with a story about a horse who was about

give birth.

And that horse was, Miss D!

Together, Carrie and Gracie began to read the 

adventures of Annie and her family.

And through email, the 3 of us became friends!

So today I present to you,

my Christmas gifts from Carrie and Gracie.

A beautiful drawing of Annie!

Annie and me!

A big smile lit up on my face when I opened these

adorable pictures this morning!

I do believe I will be printing them,

so they can be framed :)

And of course, my sidebar will happily accommodate them!

Carrie and Gracie are an awesome duo.

Mother-daughter/best-friends.

Finding their way in the world after a life-altering change.

Each time Carrie and Gracie comment on a post,

they always sign off with,

"Thanks for making us smile and giggle".

I so appreciate  

both of you,

Carrie and Gracie!

And thank you,

from the bottom of my heart for the gorgeous 

drawings you made!

It was like being handed

a big bowl full of glorious cherries 

on a cold, December day!

Today, you each made me smile and giggle :)

Merry, merry!

xo,

misha

p.s. Gracie asked that I tell all of you,

that this past summer, she and her mom

began taking riding lessons!

Hooray!

And one day, Gracie hopes to have her

very own "Annie"!
Oy!
{*giggle*}