Spring Break is Precious

My child is not yet in school. Luckily, I have a couple more years before I’ll be thinking about homework assignments, packing lunches and parent-teacher conferences. But I am still looking forward to spring break with much anticipation.

Why? For the babysitting, of course! My favorite sitter will be available over her spring break. Hey, at least I am honest.

Actually, many people I know are anxiously looking forward to spring break. My teacher friends are all thrilled to have a much-needed week off. A few people here in the office are planning to take time off for family since the kids will be out of school. Others I know are in graduate school and looking forward to the rest from nightly reading and classes, even if just for a week.

Just for a moment, think back to your own spring break weeks…whether it was grade school, high school, college or beyond. What memories stand out most for you? Did you lounge? Go to the beach? Disney World?

For me, one of my most memorable spring breaks was back in high school. My family traveled to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and rented a house for a week. I was thrilled to be able to walk to the beach…it was a short 100-yard walk in my new red flip flops. My brother and I walked to the beach early each day to hunt for sea shells. The best shells could be found in the morning. The thrill of the hunt was as much fun as finding them. We were also fascinated by the people on the beach who slowly walked with radar detectors, gently waving them back and forth as they meandered down the shore line with their headphones on, listening for a signal that treasure lay beneath the surface.

That week, my brother and I collected over 100 shells, but unfortunately, we left them all in a bucket by the back door of the rented beach house! Hopefully, the finder kept a few of the nicer ones since we worked so hard to collect them.

Today, I no longer collect shells. I do, however, collect Precious Moments figurines. In honor of that memory, I’ve posted one of my favorite Precious Moments figurines above to share with all of you. I hope you enjoy it as you think of your favorite spring break memories. Better yet, come visit our Facebook page and share them with us!

It's Time To Spring Ahead!

It’s time to spring ahead! I always have bittersweet feelings toward this time of year. I hate the idea of giving up a precious hour of sleep when we turn the clocks ahead, but I love the idea of longer days because that means that spring is just around the corner! So this year I’ve decided to ignore my lost hour of sleep and focus on all the things I can do now that the days are longer.

One of the things I really enjoy doing when the days are longer is going for a walk after dinner. Being out in the fresh air and seeing the trees and flowers start to bud always puts me in a good mood. It helps get me motivated to tackle all the “spring cleaning” projects around the house. This year, we are focusing on turning our somewhat bare backyard into an inviting outdoor space that includes a screened in porch, swing set for our daughter and some much needed landscaping – fingers crossed that we can get all done!

One of the other things I’m looking forward to is teaching my daughter how to ride a tricycle. For her 2nd birthday, we took her to the store and she picked out her very own tricycle. It has been sitting in our garage for a couple months now, just waiting for a nice spring day to take it out for a test drive. She has tried riding it a few times, but it’s hard to learn to ride by just circling around the garage. This past weekend, we had our first opportunity to venture out of the garage. Here is a picture of her first real “ride”. She’s still getting the hang of it, but I’m sure she’ll be zooming around the neighborhood in no time!




These are just a few things I’ll be doing now that the days are longer. What do you like to do when we “spring ahead” to longer days? Share your stories and photos with us!

Plant a Flower, Celebrate Spring

Everyone loves a holiday, and if you look, you’ll discover that just about every day of the year is some sort of holiday. Well, we discovered that tomorrow is “Plant A Flower Day.” Is that sweet or what? It’s timely, too, since spring seems to finally be tip-toeing in; after all, last week was positively polar.

I remember that my own grandmother maintained a garden for years. She grew her own tomatoes and zucchinis, and she also planted beautiful border beds around her entryway and the trees in her back yard. When I visited her around this time of year, she enlisted my help, and I loved helping plant all the flowers because I got to pick the colors of the flowers when we selected them from her local nursery. To this day, when I look at pansies, I remember her—she was the one who taught me about their “faces.”

Now my little boy is about the same age I was when I first began helping my grandmother in her garden. And my own mother is anxious again to have her grandson visit her again. She has purchased large pots to plant an assortment of spring flowers, and she can’t wait to have his help!

It just so happens that we are premiering a BRAND NEW Precious Moments figurine. Just like we think “Plant a Flower Day” is such a sweet idea, we think this little teardrop-eyed boy makes such a sweet presentation. I can’t wait to place my order so I can send this one to my mother. If you’d like to order one as well, please respond to this posting or let us know on Facebook!

A Night to Remember Is Always Better When Shared

March is a big month for me. It’s my mom’s birthday month, my husband’s birthday month and my own birthday month. And there’s March Madness, of course. They say it comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but I have to say it has come in like a polar bear this year. It has been unseasonably cold!

Another March event is the Academy Awards. I usually watch every year, although it’s difficult to stay up until the very end—especially this year. See, I used to watch the Oscars every year with my close friend, who now lives in Texas. We made an event out of the show and rated the red carpet looks, watched who showed up with whom and, of course, we chose the winners and watched to see if our guesses were correct. And for me, they are truly guesses. I have a 4-year old, and while going to the movies isn’t impossible, it’s hard to see all the nominated films by Oscar night. I will get around to seeing the films, of course—eventually.

This year I kept my date with my friend and watched some of the evening’s presentation while talking on the phone with her. Talking with her and sharing the experience made it so much more fun, and it made me realize that events like this are more fun when shared, much like actually going to a movie with a friend.

So who did we like on the red carpet? Well, we definitely liked Sandra Bullock’s dress. She looked Oscar-worthy, especially with that beautiful makeup. And another standout was Vera Farmiga. Today we learned that both are by the same designer, Marchesa.

Here are those dresses. The photos are from the Oscar.com.



Did you watch the Oscars with friends? Did you have a favorite red carpet look? Share your thoughts with us on Facebook.

Missing A Co-worker

Things in our office environment are almost always fast-paced. There’s always so much to do and think about. Precious Moments figurines are sweet, and a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make them not only appealing but also of high quality at a fantastic value.

This week, we are losing one of our long-time office pals. He is moving to our corporate office far away. So on Wednesday, to send him off right, we gave him a good ol’ fashioned breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grits (we’re in the South), fruit, orange juice and other goodies. It was a great way for everyone to get together and wish him goodbye.

Now his office is empty. It’s a little sad to walk by the space where we used to see him. Not only was he knowledgeable, helpful and prompt when we needed help with things—he kept all of our computers running so smoothly—but he was a good friend to so many. It just goes to show that the true value of a co-worker is hard to quantify and measure. He was a friend, and that’s a priceless thing.

We’ll miss you, Tom! Keep in touch!

Post-Valentine's Day Thoughts

So Valentine’s Day has passed. For some, it was a whirlwind of a weekend. For me, between my son’s 4-year old birthday party, a long-overdue date night with my husband and a lot of odds-and-ends errands, it was a very busy weekend. For a couple of my single friends, it was a weekend of anxiety. Will he call? Will I be the one who doesn’t get flowers in my office-turned-flower-shop workplace?? He did/did not kiss me, and what does that all mean?

Last week I received a call from a friend from college. The cute puppy she got from the animal shelter while we were in college together was put to sleep two weeks ago, and she was absolutely heartbroken over the loss. And when she said, “He was my favorite Valentine,” it made me realize that she did bring him home on February 14. And then it made me realize all over again how animals are wonderful friends. They truly touch our lives in ways that no human being can.

This week, the world-renowned Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is being televised. I know, the Olympics are on, too, but take a break from ski slopes and ice rinks and check this show out! Snuggle up with your own four-legged friend and enjoy the show. The dogs are beautiful, the mood is exciting, and you really can learn a lot about all different kinds of dogs. I also marvel at the glamour of this event—women wearing full-sequined gowns to watch dogs. I’ve been told this is the Super Bowl of dog events.

My son and I will be watching the dog show. He loves dogs. But no, we don’t have a dog! Why? My husband—my dear Valentine—does not like dogs!

This Is My Precious Moment

From the first day that I started to work for The Hamilton Collection, I was impressed by the quality of each of the collectible figurines we create. What I did not realize until recently was the effect a collectible figurine can have on your life. This is my precious moment.

During part of my career here at The Hamilton Collection, I had the opportunity to work with the Product Development team. I spent many weeks, months and years working with a team of talented individuals creating the best Precious Moments collections.

Understanding the intricate details of Sam Butcher’s tear dropped eyed children was not an easy task. Learning design standards such as the measurements of their eye shape, each figurine’s correct proportions and even how their hands were shaped was a challenge I was ready for. What I do not think I was prepared for at the time was the personal impact one Precious Moments figurine would have on my life.

Let me first introduce one of the greatest women to enter my life, my mother-in-law fondly known to all as Granny. She was a beautiful woman so full of life that always sang, laughed and found a silver lining in every cloud. One of her favorite songs was “Singing in the Rain.” She never complained, had a great sense of humor and loved her family. Widowed at a young age, Granny kept her family close and surrounded herself with a simple life building a legacy for her children.

I fell in love with Granny the first time I met her. Her laugh was contagious and I still remember sitting with her that first visit listening to stories about her family. She beamed with love for life and a halo of warmth shined brightly around her. There were many more days like this one that followed, each one creating a new precious moment in my life.

As Mother’s Day 2007 approached, Granny was approaching the celebration of her 84th birthday. She had touched my heart so many times that I wanted to express my love for her in a very special way. I set out on what began as a research project and evolved into a project of love. I wanted to create a scrapbook to preserve Granny’s many memories. I wanted to document the precious moments of Granny’s life.



I still remember her smile the day we gave her the scrapbook along with the Precious Moments “My Granddaughter, My Joy” figurine. Although she was only my mother-in-law, she was a great-grandmother, grandmother, and loving mother to so many. I felt this piece depicted the love we all had for Granny. Plus seeing the grandmother and granddaughter sharing a scrapbook made this truly a precious moment.

This was one of the last moments we had with Granny. In December of that year, she joined her devoted husband for an eternal dance amongst the clouds of heaven. The Precious Moments “My Granddaughter, My Joy” figurine returned to me. It sits atop my shelf in my craft room. When I enter the room and look at this beautiful figurine, I immediately hear Granny’s laugh and “I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain”.

If you are looking for a way to express your love for the special people in your life, Precious Moments collectibles have a way of expressing what your heart really feels. I have experienced this first hand, and would love to hear your own stories. What are the Precious Moments of your life?