Comments on: Advent: Journey for Christmas

By: Julia

Julia — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:53:18 +0000

Maurine,

What a wonderful tradition. Did you keep the old dolls, or were they sent on to other little girls, by Santa?

By: Maurine Ward

Maurine Ward — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 03:56:38 +0000

When my sister and I were small,we had a routine with our dolls. My mother washed and ironed their clothes and repainted their faces. For those with hair, she carefully combed their hair then used the curling iron (heated over the gas stove) to curl it. We then put all of our “old dolls” in a big chair in the living room so that Santa would see what good care we took of our dolls,thus being willing to give us a new one that Christmas.

By: Julia

Julia — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:43:55 +0000

Reading this, I realized that I don’t think I ever got a doll for Christmas. )My biological father would buy me one as, what I always thought of as a repentance present, and so I never had one on my list on desired Christmas gifts.) I can see though that having a doll, much nicer and more expensive than expected would be a Christmas miracle of its own!

My youngest has a favorite doll, and she wants more clothes for it. She was a premie, and that is the size clothes this doll wears. I have all her premie clothes to a family in the ward whose father lost his job the same week their premie was born, and I have been wishing I had kept a few more of the outfits she wore.

I keep checking Craigslist and eBay, and am hoping to find a variety if used one. Haven’t found any yet, and she certainly has plenty of other presents, collected through the year. I had pretty much decided not to worry about the doll clothes until I read this story, and Bev’s comment, and had the clear prompting that it is important that I find her some doll clothes. She lives with her father, all the way on the other side of the country, because she is able to get better medical care there. I miss her a lot, especially since my health problems have not allowed me to fly out to see her in over a year, and her father only brings her to Oregon once a year.

As I read this, I had the insight that she calls her doll Julia because when she is lonely for me, she can then pretend that it is the way I would take care of her, it I was there with her. Funny and beautiful how The Lord uses the simplest stories to give us deep spiritual insights into our lives.

So, I guess I better get with it and find some premie clothes for Baby Julia. Maddy needs her Christmas miracle.

By: Bev Field

Bev Field — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:56:42 +0000

What a wonderful story. Now 68 years old, I remember my first wonderful dolls…and it is a tradition in my home, yes, even this year, to let my doll collection climb the Christmas tree and play under it’s branches. Thanks for sharing.