Live from...

my own computer!! Positive? It's actually charging. Negative? It's already shut down on me once for no reason at all. Keep your fingers crossed that I get all the kinks worked out and I can finally be free from the security restrictions on Hubby's computer!! And since I can, I am finally posting a picture that I actually took myself! This was the day after Christmas in Atlanta. Over a year ago when we went to NYC for Thanksgiving we had thought about taking Lovebug to American Girl to get her a look like me doll. Well, Lovebug had an emotional breakdown of sorts and there was no way the Wife was going to go in that store with her behavioral issues. That's when Hubby and I decided Lovebug needed to save her own hard earned money for the prized possession. Dollar by dollar, bit by bit that little lady saved her money with one goal in mind. The catalog would come and she would thumb through it time and time again until they were falling apart. She had picked out all her "must haves". For her birthday this year she got herself a substantial little gift card from one of her grandparents to put towards her purchase. The day after Christmas we headed to Atlanta under the pretense we were doing some post-holiday shopping. At the Cheesecake Factory there she spotted a young lady with two of the coveted dolls and I had to make up a little story about Santa probably brought them to her. I was so excited, because I knew she was going to be absolutely ecstatic when we made our way to the store. As we make our way through the mall she finally spotted the store...it.was.fantastic!! Some folks thought we were crazy making a child her age save so much (and yes, it's a LOT when you are talking about a doll!). I think the year of waiting and saving and ,in the end, purchasing it herself was very satisfying to her. I was (again) moved to tears by my daughter. Seeing the excitement and pride she felt was a very powerful thing for me.