I restrained myself from giving her boyfriend advice.

May20

Once upon a time, I met a girl named Ashley (who would later, on this very blog, be given the eloquent nickname of French Fry).

What can I say? The girl loves her french fries.

Anyways, French Fry became my best friend from the moment I met her and we’ve enjoyed over 10 years of shoe shopping, movie watching and boyfriend sharing (after the other one was done with him, of course).

A couple of years after getting married, French Fry went and had a baby who is now known as my precious Gracie. When it came time to celebrate Gracie’s 1st birthday late last year, I knew I needed A Very Special Gift. And so, I did something that totally proves how serious I was about the gift needing to be perfect: I pulled out my old scrapbook supplies.

I’m no scrapbooker by any means, but I wanted to create something for little Gracie that she could keep for a long time. I love written words (Imaginary Boyfriend, I hope you just took note of that!), so I decided to create a scrapbook filled with letters to my baby Gracie.

I started out with mommy and daddy’s love story…

And then there was Gracie!

And then the letters begin:

Here’s how I did this: I picked out 18 blank note cards (make sure you use acid-free since this is going to be a long-term thing-y). On each note card, I wrote a letter to Gracie for each year of her life until she’s 18. I didn’t stress about what to write in each letter; I just imagined what she might be like at each age and wrote my heart to her. I then slipped them into an envelope and glued each envelope to the page with the “wrong” side up. I then used number stickers to designate which year each letter was for — all the way up until she’s finishing high school.

Not that she’ll ever be that old. Because French Fry and I are going to stay young FOREVER.

For more WFMW entries, go here.

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15 Comments to

“I restrained myself from giving her boyfriend advice.”

  1. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 6:36 am Tina in Thailand Says:

    How do I find a friend like you?
    How lucky for Gracie that she has an auntie who loves her sooooo much!


  2. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 7:36 am Jennifer Miles Says:

    You are AWSOME!!! I am SO going to steal that idea! :)


  3. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 7:45 am Cassidy Gallup Says:

    someone is a genius. And it isn’t me!


  4. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 7:52 am Sarah Says:

    Seriously, hands down, you are the BEST GIFT GIVER EVER. Period.


  5. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 9:50 am april Says:

    cute!


  6. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 9:54 am Jendeis Says:

    What a beautiful and thoughtful gift!


  7. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 10:49 am Hestial Says:

    This *is* a wonderful gift idea!


  8. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 11:39 am Natalie Witcher Says:

    dude! Love that!


  9. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 1:05 pm kristine Says:

    too cute! I love your blog!


  10. Avatar May 21st, 2008 at 1:28 pm Crockstar Says:

    That is amazing! Perfect gift.

    Thanks!
    Kim


  11. Avatar May 22nd, 2008 at 1:34 pm Cindy Says:

    What an amazing friend you are! I wish someone loved my girls like that!


  12. Avatar May 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 am Tara Says:

    I really love this gift.. so clever! Very sweet of you to take the time to make something so special for your friend. You really inspired me to do something like this for my 2 little kids.. So that when they get old and think I am an idiot (lol) who doesn’t let them do anything they will be able to read how much I love them!! Thanks !!


  13. Avatar June 28th, 2008 at 3:27 am Taryn Says:

    I just love this!!


  14. Avatar December 30th, 2008 at 1:10 pm Ministry So Fabulous! » A look back at the great ‘08. Says:

    [...] perfection of abstinence for this single girl.  I had a conversation with the local Fire Chief and made a sweet baby gift.  I broke hearts in Aruba and finally confessed my secret obsession to you.  I discovered that [...]


  15. Avatar March 10th, 2009 at 12:39 pm Ministry So Fabulous! » Pink or blue, with plenty of baby blankets, too! Says:

    [...] I was in sixth grade, I met a girl named Ashley who quickly became my best friend. We were at each other’s houses constantly, typically [...]