As an avid Precious Moments collector, I have become accustomed to looking for those hard to find-just have to have figurines. And so…my search began. Sear’s, Penny’s, and Montgomery Wards were all among my list of places to call in my unrelenting search for my very own Preemie; but my pleas fell on deaf ears. They wouldn’t even take my order! I followed every lead, every hint of a lead, only to be disappointed time and time again.

Disappointed, but not yet defeated, I continued my search. My desire to adopt my very own Preemie prompted me to call my two daughters, who live in Florida, to have them place orders there. They did so, but again, no promises. No closer to my goal, the summer ended.

The holidays were upon us. In November our local newspaper was printing letters from children to Santa Claus. My two granddaughters, Jenny, five, and Jessie, four, insisted that I help them write their letter to Santa. Now, the newspaper, having been flooded with letters from anxious children said they had all the letters they could print for the remaining days until Christmas. I explained this to the girls, but they, like their grandma, were persistent. I, being a grandma who loves and spoils her grandchildren, gave in. I sat with pen and paper in hand and they began telling me what to write, …”We would like Cabbage Patch dolls, and please bring Grandma a Preemie too”. There, it was done! The girls, however, wanted to go one step further, “Mail it in Grandma. Please!” were now the words I was hearing. Even though I was sure that the letter would not get into the paper, how could I resist those four, big, beautiful, pleading eyes looking up at me? Well, I couldn’t (a weakness I’m sure all grandmas are familiar with); to make them happy, I mailed it in.

Good news for grandmas all over the world. Somehow it worked! One week later as I was reading the newspaper, there among all of the letters to Santa, in bold type, the caption, BRING GRANDMA A PREEMIE TOO, caught my eye. They printed it! I immediately called the girls to tell them the good news. They came over and needless to say, they were very excited, and quite impressed to see their names in the paper. Of course, I was excited for them, and naturally, I received many comments from friends who also read the letter. Maybe I should have written my own letter to Santa? Oh, well…

Christmas was almost here and even though my search for my Preemie had still not seen it’s end, my oldest granddaughter, Jenny, kept telling me not to worry because she prayed and knew that I was going to get my Preemie. The faith of a child! It worked with their letter and considering I was getting no where fast with all my efforts, maybe…