A Precious Gift of Martha by Mail Patriotic Cookie Cutters!

This fourth of July weekend will go down as one of the best holiday weekends we've celebrated in a long, long time. First of all, our Ranger is home on pre-deployment leave and he's brought the one from Texas with him to meet us.

I already knew lots and lots of very nice things about her since she and I have corresponded a little by phone and on-line. She even sent me beautiful flowers for my birthday and I was happy to send her a few of my decorated dress cookies to share with her co-workers earlier this spring. But meeting her in person has sealed the deal. She's as warm, smart and funny as Ranger described her and as I'd come to know through our correspondence. She's very close to her family, her parents are still happily married after thirty years, and when I learned that she's Catholic, I felt like I'd won the lottery! To say we are thrilled to welcome her into our family and excited about their future together is an understatement!

The other reason this fourth of July weekend will always be remembered as

one of my favorites is due to the kindness and generosity of my new friend

Leah. If you read this post then you already know that I came to know

her through my blog after Leah contacted me regarding my cookie baking

and decorating. Leah was so kind to share photos of her cookies with me

and because we share such a fanatical love of all things Martha by Mail,

especially the copper cookie cutter sets, Leah and I have traded dozens of

e-mails about our collections. We often discuss ways we'd love to decorate

cookies using the sets we're missing, always lamenting the crazy prices that

limit our ability to complete our collections via e-Bay. Two of the sets at

the very top of my wish-list are the Baby Shower set and the Patriotic set...

So image how surprised and overwhelmed I felt

when this package from Leah arrived this morning!

I still don't believe it, but Leah has gifted her set of Martha by Mail patriotic

copper cookie cutters to me! Her note made me cry and, it will always remain

inside the box with these cutters. People often thank us for our son's service

and I always decline to take any credit for how amazing he truly is. That being

said, we adore the people that appreciate him more than I could ever tell you!

It already felt like Christmas in July to me the moment our Ranger came home...

But Leah's gift has confirmed it!

As long as I live, I will never be able to repay Leah for her kindness...

I've been alone all day... The Ranger and his girl are touring Asheville

and Biltmore and my beloved has been busy playing in his gardens...

I've been thinking of Leah all day. I've thought of figuring out a way to call her a

couple of hundred times... However, the fact that I know I couldn't speak without

crying always stops me. When people ask me how I am able to handle Ranger

leaving soon for his fifth deployment, I often reply that I get by with a little

help from my family and friends who care and love him as much as I do...

And Leah is a perfect example of one of those friends...

My gratitude for Leah's gift and continued friendship is reflected in

the color of the roses I chose to put in the living room this afternoon...

Yellow roses for Friendship. Yellow roses for Leah's friendship!