
Norah, by her grandpa
![]() |
![]() |
Dear Debby~
The request you sent on Sept 1 to do something for someone else on your birthday, today, was just beautiful. What a beautiful heart you have. What a willing soul, you are. I guess it was my good luck that our family had just decided to adopt Bria (I blogged about her here), my sweet friend from Charlottesville, as she studies at BYU.
Bria is 25 and has a heart for service herself. She is one of the few people who always remembers my birthday, every year and calls me. She helped pay for our Thanksgiving last year, and gave us our Christmas dinner as well. She also took Valerie and I to get a manicure and pedicure for Christmas. My first pedicure, ever, and second manicure. Then, she took us out to eat. In April, she gave us a new flat-screen TV and in August, she gave me all her amazing MAC makeup and brushes collection + a giftcard to Ulta and some amazing loofa/goat’s milk soap. She spent her last pay check on me. How… humbling doesn’t even touch it.
Bria is living in the heart of Mormon culture, with several roommates who get phone calls from home, letters from home and care packages often. She never once has complained, I am sure she felt lonely though. She is a biology major, taking hard math, chem, and bio courses. This is such a hard, rigorous major.
Anyway, we chose to show Bria she was loved and missed and adored by sending her things in the mail . Bria got her first box (sent Parcel Post), after 2 weeks, she got it last Thursday. Bria is vegetarian and vegan, and has had a really tough time finding anything to eat in Provo. Sooooo, I went to the Friendly City Food Co-Op and found lots of packaged organic fruits. Veggies and snacks for her, along with some things she left because she ran out of boxes to ship to Utah.
Thursday, Bria got home and called me and said “So THIS is what it feels like to be loved?” It was such a sweet feeling.
During conference, we also had 3 service projects we worked on through out the weekend. During the 2nd session on Saturday, I made dinner for our missionaries, and a lady from our ward who has very little family support here. She is on a pretty rough diet- so I made a chicken pot pie with homemade noodles (WOW!), fresh bread, and pumpkin cake. Nancy and her family were happy and the missionaries were too.
THEN, we put together an October package for Bria- lots of Halloween candy (even if it is not vegan, she will make friends with that candy!), magic wands, glow sticks, cozy socks, a kitty cat purse, pictures of all of us, and letters from each of us except Asher.
I mailed that Monday and it was delivered today. I am sure Bria will call tonight or tomorrow. A surprise for her, was that Eco-Emi also opened Monday, so I finally go to subscribe to that for Bria with a gift subscription, I know she will love it, I look up the E-E box contents and drool every month!
As for another birthday- what a blessing your birth has been to us all. We love you and hope your birthday is filled with love, appreciation, kindness and goodness. We are all so grateful for you and sooooo wish we could make you dinner and dessert for your birthday dinner! Thank you for the patience, love, kindness and goodness you have brought to the world since day one. We LOVE you.
UPDATE! Bria posted about box #2. I love that she always says thank you!