Daughter of the Year

Hannah devised the most wonderful Christmas/Birthday present for me this year. I just have to share this one. I suspected something was up due to some questions she was asking and by the fact that she was anxious for me to be out of the house most of the day. Here's what she did - with the help of her brothers, sisters, Uncle Peter, and some friends.

Last Monday (the week of Christmas) she arranged for me to go out to lunch with a friend - or so I thought it was just lunch with a friend. It turns out, two of my good friends planned a surprise birthday lunch at the Olive Garden - one of my most favorite places to eat. There were 7 of us all together and they each had such thoughtful gifts for me. I was sooo touched. What wonderful friends I've been blessed with and what a fun lunch! After that I did some shopping and finally got the "all clear" to come home about 5:30 PM.

When I arrived home I was greeted with a camera aimed at me and a bunch of giddy children - waiting for my reaction. Here's what they accomplished while I was gone for only 6 hours. First, they repainted an antique mirror that was Dan's Grandma O'Neil's and hung it in my dining room - something I've been waiting for the whole time we've lived here. Then they ushered me to the stairway, where they had painted the wall beneath the chair rail - all the way up the stairs and the upstairs hallway.
The greatest accomplishment was in my bedroom - which is the dump zone when the rest of the house is cleaned. First, they cleaned it, then Hannah had been shopping and was set to redecorate the room. Two multi-candle sconces for above our bed, rearranging other pictures on the walls, cleaned the top of my dresser and decorated it with two vases full of cinnamon potpourri, a beautiful flower arrangement that sits next to the TV, a new lamp for Dan's side of the bed and a matching shade for the lamp on my side. She bought and hung a curtain over the doorway to my bathroom, organized the bathroom closet, decorated the bathroom with some candles, and left a bath/lotion set on my counter for me.


I know she had help with manual labor and financing the project - 5 friends came in - but she really made my day. What a blessing to be able to retreat to my room and be at peace.

On top of all that, she still kept all the little kids at home and kept them occupied and out of the paint.

We are blessed with such a thoughtful and loving daughter! and a great group of children to work along side her on this.

The past couple of months have been full of stresses and pressures and this was exactly the kind of day that made me forget it all and enjoy the love of the people God has put around me.