pack light, so I got a 4 x 6 leather bound album with a magnetic strap that says "family". It had 18 pages with pocket sleeves on each side. I probably wasn't clear on the size when I called everyone so I did have to do some editing of some larger photos. I either trimmed them down a little or scanned them on my computer and reprinted them in a smaller size. This was a very casual album and since space was limited, I just folded up the letters and put them behind each picture. That way he can pull them out and read them as needed. After I got each person's letter and picture in a sleeve, I printed different pictures of the kids, Daniel and myself in wallet size and filled in the rest the pages with 2 wallets in each sleeve. Here is a random sampling of what the book looks like.
We had an issue with our ink - it ran out Thursday before I could get all the pictures printed. I got a new cartridge Friday night but was so busy that I didn't get all the pictures printed until about 11:30 Saturday night. I gave him the book but told him he could not open it until he was on his way. I said he could read it on the plane or save it until he got where he was going. I spoke to him Sunday night and he told me that he read it on the plane from Harrisburg to Chicago. He said the book was INCREDIBLE! He told me that he bawled and had snot running out of his nose. (I am sure he didn't have any tissues, ((unlike my purse which was full of them in preparation for his leaving,)) and his uniform sleeve is not very absorbent). I shared this story with my mom and she was wondering if he was sitting next to anyone and if they were thinking "Look at this tough soldier bawling like a baby". But the important thing is - the book made him feel and that's what we were after. He felt our love, support and admiration for him. He told me he couldn't believe what nice things everyone had written. I told him he means ALOT to ALOT of people. So again - Thanks to all of you who contributed - it was the BEST gift we could give him!
8 comments:
Thank you for letting us share in this experience. ddYou are all in our thoughts and prayers!
SPH-1
Thank you for letting us share in this experience. You are all in our thoughts and prayers!
SPH-1
You did a great job Brit. I'm sure Dan will read the letters over and over and have the photos close at hand during the trying times of his tour.
Dad
Thank you so much for putting it all together. I'm glad he knows that ALOT of people love and admire him and are praying for him and you!
You're great Brit!
What a wonderful gift!
When I spoke to Daniel on Saturday night, I asked him about the family gift and quickly realized I had jumped the gun and he had no idea what I was talking about. I hope I didn't ruin the presentation later on. He left a message on my answering machine a couple of weeks back and I've decided not to erase it for a while.
One the best things for me about the family album was finding a letter that B.R.K.Henrichsen wrote to Daniel when he was young. Mommy and I pulled it out of a file a few days after Brittney called me about the album. While I was sending my thoughts and picture, I thought it would be easy to include a loving momento from the past.
Frog-a-lee, I thought that was a great addition to the book too. Thanks for thinking of that and taking the time to prepare it. I bet he was so surprised.
What a treasure. You are so thoughtful. I am betting he will look at this daily, if not several times a day. You all have such a beautiful family. I'm glad we can at least be "fake cousins". AS
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