Best Birthday Present EVER!!

Today is my birthday and yesterday I received the best birthday present I could ever hope for...the announcement that my son's school has been saved from closure!!  You may recall a couple of weeks ago I appealed to all of you to consider donating what you could to help meet a lofty fundraising goal of $81,000.00 in just 9 days.  I am thrilled to tell you that the grand total hit in excess of $115,000.00!!!  That kind of money in that short a time-frame is nothing short of miraculous.  We are so thankful!  The church voted this past Sunday to reopen the school for next fall and we are filled with hope and are excited about a new life for the school.  Thanks SO MUCH to all who made a donation or sent prayers our way. 
I want to show you the gifts I made for each of the staff at the school to thank them for the love and care they have shown my son and for their dedication to the school.  Check it out...

Pretty Packages for some wonderful teachers featuring the Chalk Talk stamp set and Framelits and the new Beautifully Baroque embossing folder.

Inside each package was a Simply Adorned chain and pendant.  These are retired but are still available for a steal on the Clearance Rack!

Pendant featuring Epic Day DSP, Papillon Poutpourri stamp set and Charming stamp set (retired)

I am so pleased with the way these turned out.  I really hope the staff like them, though if they don't they can easily swap out the insert for a family photo or other artwork.  On the back side of the pendant I stamped the following sentiment from the Trust God stamp set: "Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly; leave the rest to God."  Each of those women do all of these things and I thought it was the perfect sentiment to include.  We are so blessed to have our son taught by such a wonderful group of teachers.  The fact that he gets to continue under their care next year is worth more to me than anything money can buy.  This is a very happy birthday, indeed!