Beanie Babies–Oh my.
I never paid much never mind to trendy toys but there was one wave that caught me up. Beanie Babies. Yvette, my friend, my finger is pointing straight at you for getting me hooked. As soon as we heard of a new Beanie Baby shipment coming in, Yvette and I would pack up the kids and all their various car seats and other accouterments and head out. We had to rush out because, you see, all wonderfully successful toy companies have limited editions of things in high demand. Beanie Babies came and went quickly– if you found one, you snagged it by golly, because it wouldn’t be around long. Little did I know that we would learn many lessons from a child’s miracle revolving completely around Beanie Babies.
Dear Daughter latched onto a special Beanie that immediately became her Lovey. Flip was a small kitty that was pure white. Hear me People. White. A kitty that was small enough to be carried around everywhere and anywhere a little girl child could go. WHITE. Small enough to fit into a pocket and small enough to get lost. Constantly. Lost in the car, lost in the bag, lost in the house, lost in her bed. Our worst fears came true on The Day That Flip Was Lost For Good. Was that ominous thunder in the distance? I think so.
Dear Daughter insisted that someone broke into her room and stole Flip from her bed while she lay sleeping. Hear me yet again People–insisted. You could ask her today. Seriously, here’s a link to her contact information, ask her. She will say “Flip was stolen. From my bed. While I lay sleeping.”
After all, you can’t take responsibility if its a thief, right?
Lessons about accepting responsibility for your property and not passing blame commenced. Tears flowed. Tantrums ensued. And that was just me, you should have seen Dear Daughter. Do you have any earthly idea how devastating it is for The Momma when The Child loses their Lovey? Compounding the issue, that particular Lovey was very popular Beanie Baby that, as a consequence, had been retired. RETIRED.
More lessons ensued. Lessons on faith and prayer. Lessons that God cares about us and he cares about what we care about. We prayed for Flip to be found and please Dear God, found quickly.
The 911 call went out through the family phone tree, “We are praying for Flip to be found. Please join us in this prayer.” Flip was lost– excuse me– stolen.
Now here comes the Child’s Miracle
Within two weeks we had three, THREE, Flip replacements. Flip #1 came in a fast food kid’s meal. It wasn’t quite right, he was miniature sized, but he was still a Flip with the Beanie Baby tag. Thank you God. It will do. Flip #2 came from Grandmother. Again, not quite right, this one not miniature but super sized, yet it was still a Flip. Thank you God. It will also do. Prayers continued however, “Please God, send us another Flip and, if you don’t mind, could you make it the just-the-right sized Flip?”
Behold (will wonders never cease?) Flip #3 was found.
Are you dying to know how we found the-just-right-sized Flip? Well, we were strolling around in one of those open air outlet malls doing some back to school shopping (which is a joke because we were always in school. Homeschoolers unite, life is our classroom.) when Dear Daughter spotted a vendor selling Beanie Babies. We investigated further and right before our very eyes was a just-the-right-sized Flip. He was even in his own plastic display case. I proceeded to scar Dear Daughter for life (she claims) by making her talk to the seller about buying Flip. (I mean, she “lost” him, right? Lessons.) Oh happy day, just-the-right-size Flip was for sale and only for 8x the original price. Bargain. Flip and Dear Daughter reunited at long last. This two week period is a critical chapter in our life story.
We Learned Lessons from a Child’s Miracle.
- Momma began to buy stunt doubles of the Lovey.
- Dear Daughter kept better track of her Lovey (especially at night when thieves were creeping into little girls bedrooms and stealing things).
- When you got a 911 situation in your life, ask for help.
- Always pray.
- Keep your eyes open.
- Always believe.
- God cares.
- God provides and sometimes he even over provides.
- Miracles happen.
Last year for our new tradition of “Christmas Eve Favorite Things” gift exchange, Dear Daughter bought us all our very own Flip. (I’m happy to report that the price of Flip had returned to near original.) Part of the gift exchange is explaining why this is a favorite thing. She reminded us of lessons taught and lessons caught. Today, I don’t know where everyone’s Flip ended up, but mine has a place of honor on my dresser. I see Flip every single day, usually multiple times and I remember a small, precious child’s miracle, all the lessons we learned, and I believe all over again.