My Birthday Present

My dear husband married a woman who loves giving and receiving gifts, and whose family made a big deal about birthdays and the other holidays, much more so than his family ever did. He knows that I am hard to surprise, but I love surprises, but don't tell me you are going to surprise me, or I'll try really hard to figure it out (does that make any sense?). For my birthday last month, I was sure that he had REALLY listened to me this time when I said we couldn't afford any presents, so don't get me anything (you know that game so many of us play!), but after letting me sweat it out ALL day on my birthday, he told me that he had ordered something for me, but it wasn't going to arrive until October. Of course, my first (but wrong!) response was to think that he hadn't planned ahead, but as it turns out, he had been working on this surprise for quite some time; he just had not realized how long it was going to take.

Well, today I was greeted by this box on my front stoop upon returning home from my Mom's Morning Out Bible study...

...and for anyone "in the know" about teddy bears, you know that The Vermont Teddy Bear Company is one of the best for hand made, adorable bears. In fact, while in college, a good friend of mine was from Vermont, so I had the chance to visit the factory with her, and later with Dave...and I own a few of these adorable bears, all of which bear (no pun intended!) some personal meaning to me. For example, one Mother's Day, after Benjamin was born, Dave surprised me with a mother bear and three cubs, each of which is wearing denim bib overalls with my sons' names personalized on them. (Nathaniel still needs to be represented...which was what I kind of thought might be in the box!)

Anyhow, with the help of Benjamin and Nathaniel, who were equally intrigued by this box, I tore off the mailing tape and looked inside...and this is what I found...

...a one-of-a-kind, custom made "Sophia" bear dressed in a formal silk brocade, Chinese dress, holding a fan in her hand. My husband planned all of the details of this bear with the factory, and had her made especially for me...right down to the embroidery on her paw...

Needless to say, I was VERY surprised, not only by what I received, but the special time and effort Dave put in to choosing and designing this gift to commemmorate our upcoming adoption. This bear will be another reminder to me of our little girl in China, waiting to come home!