Sunday, November 30, 2008

Greatest Gift

For any new readers or those who don't know, my hubby and I got married 4 months before he left for Iraq. We were actually planning a beautiful wedding for that May but plans changed and he ended up having to deploy 9 months earlier than we anticipated. 

When he left, he mentioned something about writing in a journal to me while he was gone. I never got letters, but I held on to the fact that I would have something tangible from him with his thoughts and stories when he returned. 

Well, since the first "traditional" anniversary gift is paper, how perfect was it that I received this gift on our anniversary this year... (He was in Iraq for the first anniversary.)

The gift was wrapped in a hand woven scarf.


Inside the scarf was a beautiful hand-carved camel leather journal.


The detail of each individually carved design is enough to take my breath away.


The photos don't do it justice.


This is the inside flap.




......And if a hand-woven scarf filled with a hand-crafted/carved camel leather journal wasn't enough,... There's more...




Each page is hand pressed with flowers. You can see every detail of the press on each page. 


And of course, the pages are filled with love letters, stories, and memories that my husband wrote for me. I will forever hold a precious, beautiful gift that encapsulates the 15 months we spent apart. 

3 comments:

Patty Whitehead said...

i love it!!! That is amazing!

Carolina Mama said...

Thanks for catching me on Twitter. :) And I have added you. Love your blog too. Come visit. :)

Pamela said...

How sweet. Today's our anniversary, and I highly doubt I'll be getting a lovely gift like that.