adding names to my Christmas shopping list

First of all, I have to say that I really appreciate all of the phone calls, emails, texts, etc. from you guys while Catie was in the hospital. Seriously, y’all are so sweet. That said, I think all of you got pwned this afternoon:

Yesterday afternoon, we thought Catie was going to be staying in the hospital for a second night, so Dave had told me to go home so I could shower and get a hot meal before I came back to spend another night in the hospital. Soon after I got home, I talked to Dave on the phone and found out that Catie was being discharged. So rather than trek back across town, Dave handled the discharge stuff and I met them both at the house when they got here.

Meanwhile, Rebecca, a little girl who lives two doors down from us, knocked to see if Catie could come play, and I had to tell her that Catie was in the hospital. I knew that by telling just one kid, soon all the kids in the neighborhood would know, but I was surprised by how fast this happened.

Today, during Catie’s nap, the doorbell rang. It was Rebecca, her older brother Nick (aka Catie’s first official true love, she absolutely adores this boy), another girl from across the street (Morgan), and Jillian, the 7 year-old next door. They each were holding a present for Catie. This is the text from the handmade card that was enclosed:

Dear Katy (sp),
We love you so much that we got all of are (sp) money together and bought you some toys. Love, the [last name]’s, the [last name]’s, and the [last name]’s, and mostly Morgan and Becka. Get well soon.

Seriously, how adorable is that? They got her a little baby doll in a toy stroller, a teddy bear, and a ball with Winnie the Pooh on it. But it was the card that almost made me cry. Later, Meredith (the mom next door) came over and said that as soon as Rebecca left my house, the kids sat in her driveway and literally pooled all of their money from their piggy banks to try to make a Catie Gift Fund. She said she’s pretty sure a few parents kicked in an extra buck or two, but it was really almost entirely from the kids themselves. Oh my lord, the sweetness, it kills me.

So besides writing out thank you notes (which obviously have to be from Catie, not me and Dave), I also need to come up with Christmas gifts for about 10 kids ranging in age from 4 to 12. I’m thinking some sort of candy-oriented goody bag might be sufficient? I hope?

6 thoughts on “adding names to my Christmas shopping list

  1. That is just too sweet! Its so nice to know that we are raising our children to take care of one another. I am sure anything you give them will be welcomed!

  2. That is so sweet. Homemade cookies and/or brownies and a few well-selected toys from the Target bins are also good possibilities for a goodie bag.

  3. That is so sweet! I would be so frightened to go through something like that with my son, glad to hear your DD is doing better.

    I just stumbled across your blog from Silly Little Mischief and I’ve been reading b/c it seems we have a lot in common! My son was born on Valentine’s Day 07 so our kids are of similar age. I’m also a software nerd. Anywho – stop by sometime, I always like hearing from moms whose kids are at the same stage.

  4. Aw, that is so cute! I’d be interested to hear what you went with. Candy/treats are always good. What a bunch of adorable munchkins.

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