A woman with curly red hair wearing a blue green outfit stood by the doorway. She was holding a little lamb puppet, who wore a cute purple outfit, in her arms. She was also holding a large rainbow birthday gift bag in her other hand. Richard knew that the woman was indeed Shari Lewis with Lamb Chop.

"Hello!" Richard greeted excitedly. "You must be Shari."

"And you must be Richard," Shari replied back sweetly. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Richard and Shari shook hands. Then, Shari introduced the little lamb to Richard. "And this is Lamb Chop."

"Well, hello, Lamb Choppy," Richard replied as he shook Lamb Chop's hand. The little lamb let out a giggle. "It's nice to meet you."

"Thank you. 'Lamb Choppy' is what Hush Puppy calls me," said Lamb Chop.

Richard chuckled at Lamb Chop's remark. He looked up at Shari. "I'm so glad that you could come."

"We love the video you sent us," Shari replied." I'm really touched that Elise considers me as a friend and a teacher. She's a really sweet young lady."

"Thank you," said Richard. "Elise loves you so much."

"I wonder what she'll do when she sees us, Shari," said Lamb Chop.

"We'll just have to wait and see, sweetie," Shari answered. To Richard, she asked, "Where is the birthday girl?"

"She's in the kitchen with my daughter," Richard answered. "Lana and my son, Jimmy, grew up watching you, too." He called for her. "Lan? Lan, could you come here for a second?"

Lana heard her father call and she told Elise to stay in the kitchen with Christopher and Sophia for a few more minutes. "Everything okay, Dad? Who's..." Before she could finish her question, Lana gasped in surprise when she saw who was at the door. "Oh, my goodness." Lana couldn't believe it. Shari is here. She's really here! In my house! And with Lamb Chop, too. Like Richard, Lana shook hands with Lamb Chop. She also gave Shari a hug and thanked her for coming over. Lis is going to be so surprised!

"Come in, come in, come in," Lana whispered excitedly.

"We're getting ready for Lissie to open her presents," Richard added.

Lana and Richard led their guests into the living room. James came in with bunches of presents in his arms. When he saw Shari, he almost dropped them onto the floor.

"Here, dear, let me help you with those," Shari offered. She took the presents and set them in the middle of the room, then set her present between Lana's and Christopher's.

James was speechless, but choked out a "thank you."

Shari smiled, then to Lana, she suggested, "How about if Lamb Chop and I hide somewhere and when Lissie starts to open my gift, that's when we will come out and surprise her?"

"I think that's a great idea," Lana agreed. It didn't take long for Shari to find a hiding place.

"Lis," Lana called from the living room. "Are you ready to open your presents?"

"I'm ready, Mommy," Elise answered. She, Christopher, and Sophia returned put "Candyland" and "Chutes and Ladders" back in the living room closet, then Elise sat down on the floor. Richard and Lana grabbed their video cameras and once they hit "record", present time officially began.

"Happy Birthday, Lis," said Lana. "How old are you today?"

"I'm three!" Elise answered cheerfully. This earned a chuckle from all of the adults.

"Okay, honey," Lana said to the birthday girl. "Pick any present and open it."

Elise's first present was wrapped in shiny pink and white paper with white and gold ribbon. She was having a hard time untying the ribbon so Lana grabbed a pair of scissors to help her daughter cut the ribbon off her presents if needed. Before ripping off the paper, Elise was told that this present was from Lana. When Elise opened the present, she gasped with excitement. Inside the present was a book called "You Can Do It, Lamb Chop" and it included a Lamb Chop doll.

"Thank you, Mommy!" Elise ran over to her mother and gave her a big hug. "It's just what I wanted. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Lana chuckled. "You're welcome, baby. I love you."

"I love you, too."

What a grateful child she is! Shari thought to herself as she listened to Elise thank her mother.

The second present was from James and Christopher. It was a VHS and CD collection of Disney, The Muppets, and Lamb Chop. James gave Elise The Lion King, three Lamb Chop's Play-Along videos (Do As I Do; Jokes, Riddles, Knock-Knocks, and Poems; and Get Your Teddy Ready), Muppet Classic Theater, The Aristocats, two Winnie the Pooh Playtime videos (Happy Pooh Day and Cowboy Pooh), and two Mickey's Fun Songs videos (Beach Party at Walt Disney World and Campout at Walt Disney World). Christopher gave his cousin Sesame Street: The Bird is the Word and Elmo's Favorite Sing-Alongs, Lamb Chop in The Land of No Manners, Songs from The Aristocats, and The Lion King.

"Thank you, Uncle Jimmy! Thank you, Chris!" said Elise as she hugged them both.

The third present was from Richard. For a year and a half, Lana and Elise have had a new computer in their family room. From time to time, Elise would play games on it with help from her mother after Lana was done using it for her work. So far, Elise had two computer games of her own: Lamb Chop Loves Music and Disney's Animated Storybook: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. This time, Elise has two new computer games: Disney's Animated Storybook: The Lion King and The Lion King: Activity Center.

"Thanks, Grandpa!"

Elise opened Sophia's gift next. Inside was a handful of new clothes for fall and winter all in Elise's favorite colors: blue, purple, pink, red, white, and yellow. Elise thanked and hugged her great-grandma and told her she can't wait to wear them.

"Are you having a wonderful birthday, honey?" Lana asked.

"Yes, Mommy...well, almost," Elise admitted.

"Almost, huh? Wait a minute...there's still one more present for you to open. It's right by the table." Lana pointed to Shari's birthday bag.

Elise walked over to the present and looked at it from top to bottom. She told her mother, "I can't find the tag. I don't know who it's from."

"I think this might be a surprise present," said Richard.

"Why don't you open it now and then you'll know who it's from?" Lana suggested.

Elise nodded. When she looked in the bag, there were six presents for her. The five presents were books and movies. The books were "One Minute Bedtime Stories", "Baby Lamb Chop Loves Animals", and "Cinderella: A Lamb Chop's Play-Along Fairy Tale". The movies were Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio and Shari's Christmas Concert. Elise never saw Shari with short straight hair before and said out loud that she looked cute with either straight or curly hair. When Shari heard that, she had to stifle a giggle.

Elise opened the last present in the bag. It was a framed picture of Shari and Lamb Chop. "Wow," she said in awe. "Look, everyone." Elise turned the picture around to show her family when she saw a small white card on the back stand. "What's this?" She got up and show the card to her mother.

This is it. Shari thought to herself. Time to surprise my little Lissie. Shari came out of her hiding place and tiptoed into the living room as she put a finger to her lips. Then she sat down on the floor right across from Lana and Elise.

"It's a note, Lis," said Lana.

"What does it say, Mommy?"

"It says, "Happy Birthday to my little Lissie. You are such a doll. Now, close your eyes and turn around so you will see your biggest surprise of all." Go ahead, honey. Close your eyes and I'll help you turn around."

Elise covered her eyes and Lana helped her turn around. "Okay. You can open your eyes," Lana said.

And so Elise did and then...

"Surprise!" shouted Lamb Chop.

"Happy Birthday, Elise!" Shari added.

Elise gasped and put her hands to her mouth. Happy tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Shari! Lamb Chop!" Elise cried as she ran over and gave them the biggest hug she could muster. Then, she buried her face in Shari's chest and began to sob.