a mission

My kids are each going to get only one gift this Christmas. I am on a mission for A. She has the fortune or misfortune to have a birthday a few days after the holidays fade away.

I always thought it was fortunate because she could get better gifts since everything is on sale when December ends.

She thinks she gets ripped off since it is just a kind of continuation of Christmas and then she has to wait another 11 months until anything big happens for her again. I have to say, having a summer time birthday myself, I do not know what it is like to be in her shoes- and some other reasons I could not fill her shoes...

A is in 7th grade and has always been in GATE (gifted and talented education) classes. She is on the quiz bowl team and has been past student council president for her class. She has gotten honor roll ribbons and certificates every year. This year she tutors other students. Before you bore of my bragging, let me tell you that I always joke that somewhere her REAL mother is

desperately searching for her!!

The thing is, this year is that special first official teenage birthday-thirteen- for A, so I came up with an idea that I hope will make this Christmas and birthday be extra special. It does involve the dreaded reality of combining the Christmas and birthday gift giving into one event though...if I can pull it off financially.

A is quite a photographer and she was chosen to be part of the yearbook staff at school. I have been allowing her to take my camera to school each day. I am lost without my camera, I must admit!! I bought her a memory card to have as her own so we keep swapping out her memory card for mine -back and forth. Have you ever thought about how easy it would be to lose that teeny tiny memory card that holds 800 photo images that cannot be replaced? It could be vacuumed up or dropped down the heating vent (ok, maybe not that extreme or drastic)...but for a genealogist the possibility -even being a farthest stretch of the imagination- can make me contemplate taking up nervous nail biting.

I feel like I am rambling. To make an already long explanation not too much longer I will now get to the point. Have you caught on to the foreshadowing clues along the way?
I hope to get A her very own camera for her Christmas and 13th birthday. It could be a ticket to a future of possibilities for her.
Talent + The proper tools = Opportunity and success!
Now for the mission part. As many of you know, running an Etsy shop can mean you maybe get money to add into the pool of paying household bills and maybe some extra fun stuff. I don't know about your situation but here we have less delegated "fun money" floating around than we would like to have . My mission is to make enough from my Etsy sales to fund the purchase of a camera for a very deserving hard working girl.

UPDATE: This item has sold and is going to live at a house just a stone's throw north of me. Thanks a million Gloria!!! I'm sure it can't hope to compare to the art you do so beautifully!!