Hi, I'm Lauren! Welcome to my blog! I'm a Maryland wedding and portrait photographer that loves beautiful light and has an obsession with the water. This is my pretty little place to show off all of my most recent photography adventures and the stories behind them. So get comfy and have a look around!

My Hallmark Ornament

On Christmas morning my sister and I did our usual handing out of gifts at my parent’s house……and I won’t mention how I had the biggest pile because I’m the favorite because that has nothing to do with this story.  😉  Once they were all handed out I sat back down on the couch and Mom grabbed one of my small boxes and set it aside and told me that I had to open that one last.  We all opened our gifts and I eventually came to that last box.  I opened it up and saw that it was an old 1983 Baby’s First Christmas ornament (please don’t comment on how old I am or am about to be…..I’m having anxiety over it).  I looked at my Mom confused, thinking she was giving me my ornament to take with me to hang on my own tree, but told her that wasn’t my ornament…..that wasn’t the one they’ve had for me my whole life.  I didn’t get it.  She smiled and told me, “You finally have your own Hallmark ornament”.  I then realize what my parents have done for me as they tear up and then, of course, I have to tear up, too.

Let me explain.  I’m their youngest.  When my sister was born and Christmas came around my parents bought the Baby’s First Christmas Hallmark ornament that was out that year.  Fast forward a couple years to after I’m born and it’s time for my first Christmas.  But my parents have no money.  They can’t afford to buy me the Hallmark ornament so they buy a cheaper one from somewhere else.  I’m just a baby so I don’t know the difference.  Fast forward a few years again and I naturally  have to adopt the bratty, whiny, baby of the family attitude and say that my parents loved my sister more than me whenever we’re decorating the tree because she got the “fancy” Hallmark ornament and I didn’t.  As I grew older I understood why and knew that my parents always did the best that they could for me and my sister.  We had a great life despite the amount of money my parents had.  I didn’t know that we didn’t have money.  And I love my Baby’s First Christmas ornament no matter how much less pretty it is than my sister’s.  😉  But I still had to give my parents a hard time about it no matter how old I got.  That’s my job as their youngest.  🙂

Fast forward to 2012 and my parents are looking through an antiques shop and come across a 1983 Baby Girl’s First Christmas Hallmark ornament (original box, too!) that their little girl then got to open on Christmas morning.  The fact that I had to wait almost 30 years for it makes it one of the most special things I’ve ever gotten.  They were finally able to buy their daughter her Hallmark ornament.

4 comments
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  • JennyDecember 29, 2012 - 1:38 pm

    We definitely have the best parents in the whole world. They have always and continue to fill our lives with everything they can possibly give us. They are truly a gift from God that we are blessed to have and share every day. I love you all so much!ReplyCancel

  • BreaDecember 31, 2012 - 12:22 pm

    Aww this made me teary. How great that they were able to find one, and how sweet that they gave it to you <3 Happy New Year!ReplyCancel

  • DaniDecember 31, 2012 - 12:43 pm

    It’s like it was meant to be!! Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!ReplyCancel

  • Hallmark Ornament CollectorJanuary 16, 2013 - 3:44 pm

    What a lucky find and a truly special gift!ReplyCancel

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