The next afternoon, Richard brought his VHS camcorder so he and Elise could make Shari's video invitation for Elise's birthday party. Earlier that morning, Elise wondered if she should dress up or just wear her playclothes. She was worried about what would happen if she gets nervous on camera. To help ease her daughter's nervousness, Lana encouraged Elise to just be herself and to relax and have fun. She reached down and gave Elise a big bear hug and a kiss for good luck before telling her to be good.

"I will, Mommy," Elise promised. After Lana's car left the driveway, Richard asked his granddaughter if she's ready to start the video invitation project.

"Not yet, Grandpa," Elise answered.

"How come, honey? Are you feeling nervous?" asked Richard.

"A little bit," Elise answered again. "Plus, I'm hungry."

"Okay," Richard laughed. "Let's go make lunch and then we can start."

The duo headed to the kitchen to make another one of Elise's favorite lunches: chicken nuggets, french fries, green beans, and peaches. As she ate lunch, Elise watched another favorite episode of "Lamb Chop's Play-Along." In the episode, Lamb Chop wears Shari's necklace without her permission and loses it at school. Afterwards, Elise sang along with Shari, Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy to "This Little Song", which was one of her favorites on the "Lamb Chop's Sing-Along Play-Along" videotape.

"All ready, Lis?" asked Richard after the show ended.

"I'm ready, Grandpa," Elise replied. She walked over to the TV and gave Shari a kiss, then sat down on the couch. Richard turned the camera on and said, "Action!"

"Hi, Shari," Elise waved at the camera. "My name is Elise Rebecca Henderson. I am two years old, but I will be three soon. This is my grandfather, Richard Henderson." Elise pointed to the camera.

Richard turned the camera to say hello to Shari. He turned the camera back to Elise.

"I'm going to have a party on September 28," Elise continued. "And you are invited."

"Why would you like Shari to come to your party, Lis?" Richard whispered.

"Shari, I would like you to come to my party because you are my best friend and favorite teacher in the whole world. You, Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, and Charlie Horse make me laugh. I love your Teddy Bear Tales and your songs."

"Which of Shari's songs is your favorite?" Richard whispered again.

"This Little Song."

"Can you sing it for us?"

"Yes." Elise took a deep breath and cleared her throat. Then, in her quiet and sweet voice, she sang, "This little song if sung by me would go, 'La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.' This little song if sung by meeeee would go, 'La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.'"

Elise felt her cheeks get hot. Even though she loved to sing for her family, she felt a little shy singing for Shari. Elise composed herself and then said, "I hope that you will come to my birthday party. I love you." Elise blew a kiss and then waved goodbye.

"That was excellent, sweetheart," Richard praised as he turned off the camera.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Elise replied. "Now, what do we do?"

"Next thing is to mail it out." But before Richard could say anything else, the cuckoo clock chimed 3:00. Elise knew what that means. "Looks like it's time for your nap, Lis."

"Okay, Grandpa," Elise said. Her eyes were starting to droop so Richard picked her up and carried her to her room. He tucked her in and closed the door. Next, he walked over to the desk in the family room, sat down, and got a piece of paper and envelope. On the envelope, he wrote:

Shari Lewis Enterprises, Inc.

603 N. Alta Drive

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Then, Richard started writing a letter to go along with the tape. When the letter was done, he read it over to himself. This is what the letter said:

Dear Shari,

My granddaughter, Elise Rebecca, will be three years old on September 28. She's having a small birthday party with her family. However, she asked Lana, who is my daughter and her mother, if she could invite a special friend to her party and she said that the special friend is you. Enclosed is a birthday party video invitation for you and Lamb Chop to watch. Will you please send an update?

Thank you,

Richard Henderson

Two hours later, Richard and Elise drove to the post office to mail the video and letter after the soon-to-be three year old woke up from her nap. While on the way home, Elise kept saying to herself, "I really hope Shari comes to my party."

On September 13, two weeks before Elise's birthday, Richard received a reply from Shari. The letter said,

Dear Richard,

Thank you very much for the invite! I am very pleased to tell you I will come to your granddaughter's birthday party. This will be such a surprise for her! Lamb Chop told me that she would also love to meet Elise.

Love,

Shari

Richard smiled at the reply. Lis is going to be very surprised. He thought. This will make her birthday extra special.