Touched by kindness

Our Christmas decorations are almost all put away for another year, but I wanted to share one of the most lovely, thoughtful and meaningful gifts I have ever received. 

Tim and Bill

You may or may not remember that my oldest brother, Bill, passed away from cancer in November 2019. After his death his husband, Tim, and I reconnected in an amazing way and have since become quite close. Tim is incredibly talented, creative, and a jewelry designer, among many other things. But I was caught by complete surprise with the gift he sent me for Christmas.

Do you remember the blog I posted last year about my Mom’s beautiful cross stitch home with the interchangeable door hangings? If not, please check it out by CLICKING HERE.

The original door hangings my Mom made many years ago.

I have always enjoyed changing the door hangings for each new month or holiday but somewhere during our 18 household moves, I had lost several of them which made me very sad. Unbeknownst to me, Tim read my blog post and took it upon himself to track down the original pattern (from the 1980’s or 90’s!) by searching Etsy. He found it and he cross-stitched those missing door hangings and sent them to me for Christmas!

When I opened the package, I was completely overcome with tears (which Kent snapped in a candid photo. It’s not so pretty when I cry, that’s for sure!)

Those tears came straight from my heart because of his thoughtful act of love and kindness. Now, my Mom’s cross-stitched house — with ALL the door hangings — is a double treasure! I’m sure Mom is so happy witnessing his amazingly thoughtful deed from heaven and by the fact Tim and I are so close now. 

The remaining door hangings from the original pattern. Beautifully cross-stitched by Tim Bush.

Words cannot express what these tiny handcrafted treasures mean to me. Thank you, Tim. My heart is so full. It really is the little, meaningful things in life that matter. 

23 Comments
  1. You are an amazing accepting person and I salute you.

  2. That is an awesome gift. Made my eyes water some. I’m so happy that you and Tim have become close.

  3. That is a very special gift from a special person!

  4. Oh my heart. That sure brought tears to my eyes. Wonderful.

  5. Now that’s a gift straight from the heart! Very special!

  6. This beautiful gift. The love behind it makes it even sweeter. So glad that you and Tim have grown close. It is a blessing for you both. Love is greater.

  7. What a special gift from the heart. Feels my eyes with tears too!

  8. Wow that is incredible! What a thoughtful brother in law. God love you both.

  9. What a lovely thing to do! A treasure beyond measure!

  10. What a beautiful gift. My tears are running down also. What an extraordinary gift from Tim.
    Love
    Aunt Ginny Pinny

  11. Family is everything!!

  12. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  13. Oh how special! You’re so blessed! The time it must have taken to stitch them out. When I first saw the picture of the pieces I thought it was a Janome project!!
    Hopefully you’ll be using some of the new ones soon?

  14. Beautiful blessings!

  15. Beautiful thoughtful gift.

  16. So touching! So good to hear about caring acts of kindness!❤

  17. Thank you so much for sharing this story! It warms my heart! My favorite gift this Christmas was a small plate my husband got me to replace one I had broken. It was my favorite in a set of different patterned plates, and meant so much that he went to the trouble to find it. I think he finally found it on eBay. As you said, it’s the small things that can matter the most.

    Thank you!
    Janet

  18. The true meaning of Christmas. Beautiful, heart-warming and loving stories (not to mention amazing talents) both yours and his together. These are the human gestures that restore my faith in humanity.

  19. What a wonderful gift. So kind of him to do this. So glad your close.

  20. What an incredible story and very thoughtful gift. Thanks for sharing this story. The world needs more happy stories like this. You are so blessed. (And I don’t think anyone is pretty when they cry.)

  21. I have that very same cross stitch picture on my dining room wall.. I enjoy changing each door attachments each month. Now each time I change I will think of you and know you are doing the same thing. What a wonderful way to show his love for you. That was not an easy task.

  22. What an awesome gift. Wow a gift with so much meaning. It was sure a happy story to read. Thank you for sharing.

  23. I’m behind on reading things for pleasure but what a treat it was to finally catch up today to this sweet story. What a treasure, both Tim AND the replacement door hangings!! Thanks for sharing!

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