A big congratulations to TKTN Member Angie Speck, who turned 40 last Friday (20th Feb) and celebrated at the ICON Bar & Bistro on Saturday night. Oh, and thank you from me ~ Kerry ~ to another TKTN Member Melinda Costanzo-Jones, for making my beautiful chocolate dress with such short notice.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
Kerry and the Birthday Girl, Angie.
Wishing you the merriest Christmas filled with much love and laughter and the true spirit of the season.
White Envelopes
"It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it, overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma, the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son, Kevin, who was 12 that year was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended, and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.
These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in the spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them." Mike loved kids, all kids, and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse.
That's when the idea of his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition, one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't end there.
You see we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.
Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us."
Nancy W. Gavin
This story is a true story and inspired four siblings from Atlanta, GA (USA) to start The White Envelope Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting this tradition and charitable giving. The White Envelope Project founders are regularly in touch with the family in the article and are thrilled to have their support. The Gavin family and now thousands of others continue to celebrate the "white envelope" tradition each year. For more information about The White Envelope Project or to honor a loved one through a "white envelope" gift this year, please visit their website: www.WhiteEnvelopeProject.org
Jackie Price 0423 965 020
Direct
Transfer:
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Network
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Account # : 1046 4042
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Kerry
Stewart-Haynes 0419 173
462
We have only one birthday listed for September ... but I dare say there are more who haven't yet filled out their Membership Forms ... We love to celebrate with you so please let us know (year of birth is NOT published on the website!) ... I'll add your big day to our list.
NICOLE HOLLERAN ~ 16th.
Oh ... And there's ME ... I'll be celebrating the BIG 40 on the 26th.
Happy Birthday to you ...
CASEY SMITH ~ 5th.
RACHAEL RYALL ~ 13th.
ANGELA CARROLL ~ 24th.
(Just a note on the 'Birthdays' ... some of our Members have not completed a Membership Form so we won't know things such as your favourite colour; your dream destination ... or when we should celebrate with you! Please remember to fill the forms out next Morning Tea. In the meantime, if we're missing your big day ~ please let me know and you'll be included).
If you run into these ladies over the next few weeks, don't forget to wish them a Happy Happy Birthday~
GAYL CHIVERS ... 15th July
OLIVIA TRASK ... 23rd July
SARRA BENNETT ... 24th July
LORRAINE EWING-BOWMAN ... 28th July
