(Back to the present)

"That was a great story, Mommy," Kennedy told Elise. "I really liked how Shari surprised you at your party."

"Thank you, baby," Elise remarked. "Having Shari coming to celebrate my birthday was one my best days ever." She sighed and lovingly touched the picture one more time.

"You really miss her, Mommy?" asked Kennedy.

"I sure do."

Then, all of a sudden, the alarm on Elise's phone rang. Kennedy knew what that meant.

"Oh no, not yet," Kennedy begged. "Please, Mommy. Do you have more stories of you and Shari?"

"I do, but you will hear them tomorrow," Elise said softly, but firm. "Right now, it's bedtime."

Elise got up from the couch as Kennedy kissed and hugged Grandma Lana and Great-Grandpa Richard good night. Elise also said good night to Lana and Richard, then she took her daughter's hand and led her to her room. Kennedy was changed into her Winnie the Pooh pajamas. While Elise tucked her in, Kennedy remembered something that she needed to ask her mom for daycare.

"Mommy," she began. "On Friday, my class is having Show and Tell. May I bring Lamb Chop to school? I'll be really, really, really careful and not lose her."

Elise thought for a moment, then accepted her daughter's request. "Oh, okay. You can take Lamb Chop to school. But, one more thing," she said softly, but firm once again. "After Show and Tell, you must keep her in your backpack and you can have her as your nap buddy."

Kennedy was so happy that she kissed Elise good night and then fell asleep right away. Elise tiptoed quietly out the door and went back to the living room. She thought about watching TV, but she was actually interested in looking through more of the scrapbook. So, she took the scrapbook into her room. Elise changed into her purple nightgown and got into bed. She opened the book and went right to the page where she left off.

"Please let there be more pictures of me and Shari," Elise said to herself. She closed her eyes and turned the page. And sure enough, the next page had another picture of Elise with Shari, but this time, they were with Lana, Richard, Lamb Chop, Shari's husband Jeremy and her daughter Mallory.

"Oh my," Elise said out loud. "This must be from when Shari invited me, Mom, and Grandpa to her house to celebrate Chanukah. That was the first Chanukah celebration I've ever been to..."

(Flashback to November 22, 1996)

It was six days before Thanksgiving. The weather was getting colder and a few snowflakes were falling on the ground. Elise was home recovering from the stomach bug and was disappointed that she couldn't go to school. So, Elise watched movies and took two naps on the couch in the living room. She had been given Pedialyte to help her rehydrate after throwing up the previous night. Lana also told her that if she takes her Pedialyte, then Elise could have popsicles. Even though she did not like the taste in her mouth, Elise had done what she was told and deserved her reward. She also ate two slices of toast, one yogurt, and applesauce.

That afternoon, Elise and Lana watched "Spookable Pooh" (which was one of Elise's birthday gifts from Aunt Julie, Uncle Michael, Kimmy, and Amy). Elise was fascinated at the part where Piglet, who was dressed as a knight, was going into the dragon's cave. All of a sudden, she heard the phone rang.

"I got it, sweetie," Lana said as she got up from the couch. She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Elise heard her mother say, "Oh, hi! How are you? Yes, I'm fine. Elise is doing great. She loves school, but she's home today. Poor girl caught the stomach bug in the middle of the night. She's starting to feel a little better. Uh-huh. Yes. Oh, really? Oh, yes! Yes! I'm sure she'd love that. Hold on."

Lana took the phone off her ear. "Lis, there's somebody on the phone for you."

"Who is it, Mommy?" Elise asked.

"Come here," Lana told her as she motioned for her daughter to come to the phone. Elise paused the movie with the remote and walked over to her mother, who handed her the phone.

"Hello?" Elise answered.

"Hi, my little Lissie!" Shari replied.

Elise gasped in delight. "Hi, Shari!" Then, she turned to Lana and said, "Mommy, it's Shari!"

"Go on," Lana whispered. "You can talk to her."

Elise nodded, then she said, "How are you, Shari? I miss you so much."

"I'm doing great," Shari replied. "And I miss you, too, bubee. How are you feeling? Your mommy told me that you got the stomach bug."

"I'm feeling okay," Elise said, honestly. "I took some medicine for my tummy. I didn't like it, but it helped."

"What a good girl you are," Shari praised. "And how's school going?"

"Good. My friends and I are getting ready for Thanksgiving. My teacher, Miss Denise, has put up some of our Thanksgiving crafts on our wall."

"Oh? What did you make?" Shari asked.

"Um...I made a handprint turkey on Monday, a paper plate pumpkin pie on Tuesday, and a turkey paper hat on Wednesday," Elise answered. "Yesterday, my whole class did a thankfulness tree."

"Wonderful! Do you love doing arts and crafts?"

"Yes! It's my favorite time of the day!" Elise said happily. "I also like Circle Time because we get to sing a lot of songs. Oh, yes! And play time, too!"

Shari chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you are doing well in school. Are you excited about Thanksgiving coming soon?"

"Uh-huh! Mommy and I are going to have Thanksgiving at my Uncle Jimmy's house! What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"My husband, my daughter Mallory, and I will have our Thanksgiving dinner with relatives at our home," Shari replied.

"And then, we celebrate Christmas afterwards!" said Elise excitedly. "I can't wait for Christmas! How about you, Shari?"

"Well, Lissie," Shari began. "I actually celebrate Chanukah."

"Chanukah?" asked Elise, confused. "What's that?"

"Chanukah is a holiday remembering long ago of the dedication of a temple in Jerusalem," Shari explained. She then told Elise that Chanukah is celebrated for eight days and explained the story of how Chanukah came to be. Elise smiled and nodded as she listened to Shari's story about the Maccabees fighting against the Greeks, how they won the temple back, and celebrated their victory by lighting an oil lamp that burned for eight days.

"What do you do to celebrate Chanukah, Shari?" Elise asked her best friend.

"My family would give gifts, play dreidel, and eat special food, sing songs, and light the Menorah," Shari answered.

"Gee, celebrating Chanukah sounds fun," Elise commented.

Shari then said, "How would you like to come over and celebrate Chanukah with me and my family?"

Elise gasped excitedly. "Oh, yes! I'd love to! I'd really, really love to!"

The three-year-old turned to her mother and asked, "Mommy, may I celebrate Chanukah with Shari at her house?"

"Of course, sweetie," Lana answered. "Shari invited me and Grandpa Richard, too."

"Yay!" Elise cheered, then said to Shari on the phone, "I can't wait to come see you!"

"And I can't wait to see you," Shari replied. "I have to go, but I'll talk to you before you come over, okay?"

"Okay," Elise answered. "Bye, Shari. I love you."

"I love you, too, my little Lissie."

"Please tell Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy I said hi."

"I most certainly will. Bye."

Elise hung up the phone and hugged her mother tight. She could hardly wait to see Shari again.