Gifts from the heart

Well, it's getting that time of year when the weather begins to change and fall is approaching and I start thinking about the HOLIDAYS!!!

I do love the holidays!!

Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the fun stuff that goes with it!

I love it all. 
The food. The decorations. The time with family. Traditions..

and   I absolutely love giving gifts!!!

I wish I was the kind of girl who could just buy a present and be done with it.

Nooo...for me, it has to have meaning. Some sort of significance of why I picked it out just for the person receiving it! It is super sweet but it makes shopping a little more tricky.

that's just me. who I am.

 For those who have read  "The 5 Love Languages" by Dr. Gary Chapman,
 I discovered a while back, my secondary "love language" is gifts.

(...gotta keep our love tanks full! Awesome book if you haven't read it yet! )

So yeah. For me, its not about the cost of the gift. It's about the thoughtfulness of the gift.

One of my most favorite gifts my man has given me over the years was a little package he sent me while he was in the Navy on a 6 month med-cruise.
 It had two Elvis stamps and a Chick-O stick!

My heart melted when I opened it.

The Post Office had just come out with the Elvis stamps and he snagged two for me before I could get them myself :) Love.

The chick-o stick was one of my favorite snacks...I hadn't had one in years but his thoughtfulness in remembering my love for them compelled me to make a silly vow not to eat but to sit it out where I could see it until he returned home to me.

Well..I was also pregnant at the time with our third daughter and flung a serious craving for something sweet and alas...there went my chick-o stick.

Sad thing is...it tasted like the ship smelled! like oil or something...yuck. I should have just kept it as a "Monument of his love for me'. ha!

Well what got me thinking about all this is a post from a
sweet bloggie friend, Katie, at Life in the 505.

She reminded us on Tuesday that there were only 103 days left till Christmas.
 So that means as of today, Thursday, there are only 101 days left til Christmas!

She pinned this awesome pic...

Yep! That is me...I've got lots of ideas twirling around in my head and on "my list".

I just don't know how I'm gonna get them all done in 101 days!

BUT as I've  said many times.... and it is the truth..

"I've got more time than money"

So I'm gonna get my butt in gear and get busy!

NOW.... with all that being said. I'm gonna share the reason for this post.

I want to share with y'all in the coming  weeks some of my most favorite gifts I've given and some I have received that were more costly in time and thoughtfulness than they were costly in the money department.

I will call them "Gifts from the Heart".

We could all use some ideas right?

Well, here's the first one I'd like to share...
Quite a few years ago,
 I was given a precious basket filled with hand stamped stationary and a beautiful pen.
It looked kinda like this basket only MUCH smaller tied up with a pretty ribbon :)

I LOVED it!  My sweet friend knew how much I loved to send notes and

 I thought it was the sweetest gift!

 I've used up all the stationary, the basket bit the dirt but I still  have the pen..

It's the white one..I lost the top but I love it too much to part with it.
I found this turquoise one not too long ago so I treated myself :)

Since my basket got worn out, I  found myself a new box to keep by my chair where I have my quiet time with the Lord in the morning.  

When He puts someone on my heart I have a card right there, handy, and ready to jot a note, scripture or word of encouragement.  Not having to get up and search for a note card has helped me be more diligent and purposeful on being an encourager.

I got it free one year when I purchased a bunch of boxed cards from Lifeway Christian Bookstore.

Mine's a mess, buts its filled with all kinds of cards and addresses.

Right at my fingertips,  right when I need it.

I have given a box to my Mom and my mother-n-law.

I found a leather looking basket/box to match their decor and filled it with 

• Beautiful note cards of all kinds. 
•  New pack of their favorite pens
•   A book of stamps.

They both have told me it has been not only one of their most favorite gifts

 but also one of the most used gifts through the years.

My mom is usually with my family on Christmas morning so she gets a stocking each year, so I always have plenty of new pretty note cards to replenish her stash....its an on-going gift that she looks forward to.

You can be as frugal or as extravagant as you want to with this gift.

The possibilities are limitless.

You can use a wooden box like this..

Or a pretty paper box like this...

Or a wicker basket like this..

Then start filling that baby up with all kind of pretty note cards.  

The year I gave them to my two moms, I opened the packs of note cards up and split them between the two of them.   I just tied  up the sets with pretty ribbons.  I was able to give them a greater variety of cards and it looked so pretty when they opened up their basket. 

I found these beauties  at Dirt Cheap.  They are originally from Target, but I paid $.25 a pack for them!!

OR you could most definitely go check out so many of our bloggie friends 

who make gorgeous hand made note cards for a real sweet touch....

Like from  Jami at Called Me Blessed.

or Sarah at Yes Teacher!

Well there you have it.

Maybe someone out there will will be tickled pink about this Gift from the Heart and already has just the person on their list to give it to.

What are some thoughtful gifts you've given or have received lately?

Inquiring minds would love to know!

Stephanie :)

ps. I'm linking up with Kristy for her weekly "Things I'm Loving"...I know this isn't a list of the stuff I'm loving at the moment but it is things  I love...holidays, giving gifts, helping others...