There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature. —Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

If I had to come up with one quote that best describes Tracy, that Jane Austen quote may be just be it. Tracy has never loved by halves—she's all in. Lucky, lucky me. My kids are lucky too. They've been the benefactors of so much of Tracy's goodness. Nowhere is that more evident than in our Christmas book collection, most of which comes from her. Like this gem. I opened it up to see what she wrote inside:

Merry Christmas Emma, Zannah, and Ben too! (2004) Toot & Puddle are some of my favorite characters as are the three of you. We love you, Tracy, Matt, Mattie, Abbey, Sam & baby too

She was just days away from welcoming her little Luke into the world, yet she still found time to send a favorite read our way. How fitting that it was a tale of deep friendship and how one friend will stop at nothing to keep his promise of being home in time for Christmas. I happen to know a friend just as true.

One of my favorite traditions when my kids were younger was to read a book each night around the tree. It was a guaranteed moment of quiet at the end of days crammed with too much hustle and bustle. And more often than not, that book would have an inscription from my favorite friend.

Posted by Rachel