I have such fond memories of special Christmas gifts received over the years . . .
When I was about four years old, I received a beautiful sturdily built doll about two feet tall. She was dressed in a lovely pink dress with a ruffled collar, pantaloons, and a hat decked out with a dainty flower on the front.
I named her Yvonne after one of the Dion quintuplets born in Canada about the same time. She was mostly a display doll, and I kept her through the years. Recently I had her redressed exactly as the original except her dress was green instead of pink. A lady here at Cedarfield is named Yvonne, and I invited her to see my doll with the same name. What a great visit that was for meeting a new friend!
In years to come, other special gifts were received by our two daughters, Martha and Diane. Each received a lifelike doll about three feet tall that could wear toddler size 2 clothes and could stand alone. They were great playmates! They also received a wooden hand-built stove painted white with black round burners on top and a wooden doll bed painted blue—gifts from their paternal grandfather. Their grandmother (Mema) made a mattress, pillows, and coverlet for the bed. Many hours were spent cooking on this stove and putting dolls to bed.
The greatest gift of all was “The Reason for the Season,” the birth of baby Jesus. God sent him to us to show us that he loves us and wants us to love him and each other. Jesus was also sent to teach us how to live abundantly and joyfully and to prepare for our eternal home.
–Virginia Davis, Resident
