Stefanie York: Gift Giver Extraordinaire

Last week, I posted a blog about being a good gift giver.  Today, I am giving you a living, breathing example.

My cousin David lives in Southern California, where I am from.  On September 11, 2011, he married the woman of his dreams, Salleye.   I have never met Salleye in person, but I am so grateful for Facebook, because now I can 'talk' to her, post birthday greetings on her wall, and view all her fabulous pictures of life with my cousin.  I love technology...........most of the time :)

Thanks to Stefanie York, a close friend of David and Salleye, the world got to enjoy beautiful wedding pictures.   Thanks to her posting them on FB, Stefanie and I started talking and became FB friends.  She is a warm, wonderful, beautiful lady, with a heart as big as California.  She will put a loved one's needs WAY before her own.  She is a fantastic gift giver, and she gets to know you and pays attention to what you like, so when she sees the perfect gift, she knows you'll love it.

Only a few months into our friendship, I received a beautiful sparkly silver shawl from Stefanie, 'just because.'  It's gorgeous and adorns Claire's curtains in her room.  At that early juncture in our friendship, Stefanie knew Claire and I appreciate sparkly bling!

Stefanie knows I love coffee!  She finds funny memes online and posts them to my FB page.  Yesterday I got a Starbucks gift card from her in the mail, and it made my day!  Starbucks is truly an indulgence for me, so getting to go there courtesy a good friend is a double win!

Claire also received a 'Stefanie package' yesterday.  Stefanie knows from Claire's pictures she loves fashion, so she sent Claire a beautiful infinity scarf (Claire has been wanting infinity scarves this year!) and two beautiful jeweled rings..........an owl and a turtle!  both are awesome!  Today Claire went off to school, all dressed up for her Thanksgiving lunch, in her scarf and owl ring.  I'm sure the compliments she'll receive will just reinforce that warm feeling that Stefanie thinks she's special enough to merit a 'just because' early Christmas gift.

Stefanie is the kind of friend I wish I lived next door to...........so I could run over and watch movies with her, in my jammies.  She always has a kind word and knows just what we need on our 'down' days.  She doesn't have a perfect life; she has her share of tough days, but she is a sparkling ray of sunshine in an awfully gloomy world, and I pray daily God richly blesses her for the love she shows to everyone around her.

 

                            That's the kind of gift giver I want to be.  We love you, Stefanie!!