Lily Grace's Birthday, Part 2

 Hello all my dear friends!! I am so happy you came back to hear the rest of my birthday story!  If you were HERE on my birthday, then you know that we had to postpone the rest of my party until a special delivery was made.  On Saturday, Mommie got a message from the delivery people that the package she was expecting was going to be delayed until either Sunday or Monday.  Since the package was my special birthday surprise, Mommie said we would have to continue the party whenever it arrived. Meanwhile, she said all my friends could spend the night and we could have a "slumber party"!  I didn't know what that meant, but Mommie said everyone could just stay and sleep at our house and we would have a good time! So, you can just imagine how much fun all of us girls had finding our blankets and pillows and places to sleep:

As it turned out, we all snuggled down in the big bed in our guest room, and we found teddy bears and pillows and a big warm quilt to sleep with.

Mommie said as soon as we were all "snug as a bug in a rug", we had to go right to sleep.

We were pretty tired out anyway from all the games and cupcakes and fun we had been having, so it wasn't too hard to fall asleep.

The next morning we woke up and since it was Sunday, we had Sunday School right there in the big bed.  We read some Bible stories and sang some songs and had a wonderful time.

But even after spending that whole long day together, my special birthday surprise still did not arrive.

I told Mommie that, to me, just being with my friends and spending all this wonderful time together was a good enough birthday surprise for me. I couldn't imagine anything better than this!

I am so happy that God made us all special friends, and that Jesus loves us every one all the same.

Well, guess what! Mommie said that my friends could stay over another night, since it was going to be so cold in the morning that we couldn't go anywhere anyway, so we might as well stay right here where we are safe and warm!

Wow! It really DID get cold! All the way down to 27 degrees, which is cold enough to snow!

But it didn't snow here...just a LOT of FROST on the ground!!! Wow! That was really really cold! I am happy that we were all safe and warm inside the house!

And so the day went on and on, and still no special delivery.  Mommie was getting kind of anxious.

And then all of a sudden there was a big brown truck outside our yard,  and a man came and knocked on our door and left a package for me!

Mommie brought the packages to me and said I'd better hurry up and open them because there might be something that needed to be taken care of right away...

So, first I opened this package, and I was so excited to see it was a little swimsuit, and a life jacket, some sunglasses and some sandals!

Mommie said we might go to the beach sometime when it warms up and I will need to have a swimsuit. And also if we ever go out in the kayak I will have to have that life jacket! So that was very exciting!

But as happy as I was about this, I kept wondering what was in that other big bag, because I could hear something moving around inside!

And so when we opened up the bag, look what was inside!

A PUPPY DOG!!!! JUST FOR ME!!

Oh! My very own puppy dog!  And look how she loves me! She got right in my face and started licking my face and jumping all over me with wet kisses!

Mommie said she'd been waiting so long inside that bag that we needed to take her outside for a little walk, so we put on her leash and took her outside right away:

She was SO good and so happy to be outside sniffing the grass and exploring all around...

Oh, I LOVE her so much!! But what can I name her? Does she have a name?

Isn't she sweet? I think she likes me, don't you?

We sat on the swing and she liked that too...

And I showed her Still Waters Pond, but the sun was setting and it was starting to get dark, so Mommie said we needed to go back inside with the rest of our friends...

Oh, and my puppy was so hungry!! She went right away to her food dish.

She was so good, she knew exactly what to do!

And then she hopped back inside her little carrier bed, and that's when I noticed that it said "Bailey" on the corner.  "Bailey"!  Is that your name?"  She nodded her head and smiled up at me and wagged her tail.

So Bailey it is!! That's a nice name, don't you think?

All my friends seems to agree that Bailey was a nice name, and a very wonderful birthday surprise!

I told Mommie that I was the happiest little girl in the whole wide world.  And do you remember when I blew out my candle on my birthday cake? Remember I was supposed to make a wish, but I couldn't tell anyone or it wouldn't come true?  Well, now I can tell you, I was wishing I had a puppy dog all my very own!  And now I do!!!  Do you think God heard my little prayer/wish and answered my prayer?

Well, Mommie says that if we "delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart."

(Psalm 37:4)  But she also said that doesn't necessarily mean that we will get everything we ask for.  What it does mean is that when we love God with all our heart, and we live for Him, He blesses us with good things.  Sometimes those are things that we really want, but sometimes they are good things that are just good for us, because God knows what is always best for us.  She said sometimes He doesn't give us what we think we want because He knows it might not be right for us at that time in our lives.  When we love God, we can trust Him to do what is right for us all the time.  

I said, "Well, I am so happy that God allowed me to have this sweet puppy now. And I hope I can always be good and show my delight in the Lord so He will know just how thankful I am."

Mommie said that is all we can ask, that we do the best we can for Jesus, and He will always do what is best for us.

And now, I must put "Bailey" to bed,  and Mommie says I need to get to bed too. 

And all my friends are ready for bed too.

So good night everyone!

Love,

Lily Grace and Bailey

xoxoxoxoxo

Today is My Birthday!!

 It is very hard to believe that it was just one year ago that I arrived here at my new Mommie and Daddy's home for the very first time!  In case you don't remember, click HERE for that story!  

This is a picture of me when I first arrived:

My Mommie was so excited she could hardly get her fingers to work to get me out the big box I came in when the post office lady delivered me.  And then, once I was out of my box and so happy to meet my new family, they had to come up with a name for me!!  If you read that story again, you will remember that my Daddy actually came up with my name, Lily, but it was because he wanted to name me after his grandma "Lillian".  And Mommie also wanted to add the name "Grace", because I was a special and "unexpected gift", which is what the meaning of the word "Grace" is...unmerited favor of God. And so, after talking it over, I became "Lillian Grace"....but we all decided that Lily Grace was easier to say and better suited to who I am.  And so here I am, "Lily Grace"....one year later!

Of course, if you've been keeping up with all my adventures this past year, you will know I've been to a lot of new places and have done lots of fun things! You may want to go back and re-read some of my stories on my very own blog so you can see some of the things I've done. It's been a wonderful year full of surprises and fun and meeting lots of new people and most of all, learning all about Jesus and how much He loves me! We just recently celebrated His birthday on Christmas, and that was quite a happy and exciting time!

But now, today, Mommie says we are going to celebrate my birthday!!!  I didn't even know it! She wanted to surprise me!  But some of the things she wanted to do had to be postponed because Mommie and Daddy have been kind of sick this past week with that mean old virus that's going around, and so they couldn't invite anyone over to our house to help celebrate.  But Mommie said we weren't going to let that keep us from having a party right here with our friends and family who live here with us. And so she let me help her get some special things ready for our own little party.

You all know how much I love to help Mommie make things in the kitchen. So she said it would be okay for me to help mix up my own birthday cake.

My sweet sissie "Baby Elva" wanted to come out to the kitchen and help too:

Mommie didn't want Daddy to take her picture because she's been sick all week and she said her hair needs to be cut and she's not fixed up pretty for the picture...but Daddy said making memories with us was more important than being all prettied up for a picture...so she allowed this one picture. 

I said I wanted to have some cupcakes so my friends could each have one too, and so Mommie said I could put the pretty little colored papers in the cupcake tin to get it ready for the batter.

After the cupcakes were all baked and cooled, Mommie let me help her put the frosting on them! I asked if I could please have chocolate frosting on little white cupcakes,  and so that is what I am getting!!

So now they are all ready, but we just have to wait for our "guests" to arrive before we can have the party.  

They finally all came and we had so much fun playing some games and just laughing and talking and having a real party, all for me!! I was so excited.  Oh, did you see I am wearing my cute little poodle outfit that I got for Christmas?

But because it is so cold today, I put it over my pajamas to I can keep warm! 

Then it was time for the birthday cake.

Mommie said we could use these very special little plates if we were very very careful.

These little "Buster Brown" dishes used to belong to my Mommie's Aunt Margie, way back when she was a little girl. Mommie says there is a date on the bottom of one that says 1910! Wow! That makes them 112 years old!!! I'd say that's very old, wouldn't you?

So I said "Yes, we will be very very careful".  Aren't they so cute? I love the puppy dog, don't you?

And I love how the children and the puppy dog are having a little tea party. That looks like so much fun.  I think it would be fun to have a little doggy, don't you?

Well, anyway, we finally got our cupcakes, and Mommie put a candle in mine and lit it up with fire! That was kind of scary!

But then everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me, and told me to make a wish and then blow out the candle!  So I did make a wish,  but Mommie told me not to tell it to anyone or it wouldn't come true, so I can't tell you what I wished for, but maybe if it comes true then I can tell you.

So I huffed and puffed and blew really hard,

and the fire went out on my little candle.  

So maybe my wish will come true!

And then Mommie had a little announcement to make.  She had been waiting all afternoon for the delivery truck to bring something special that she had ordered for my birthday.  She kept waiting and waiting and watching for him to come, and he never came. Then she got a message on her computer telling her the delivery was going to be delayed until tomorrow (maybe).  Mommie was very disappointed, because she said that was going to be my special surprise for my birthday! Well,  I didn't know I was supposed to be getting any special surprises anyway, so I really didn't mind at all. I thought having my friends here and having these cupcakes was special enough! And then Mommie said since my birthday surprise didn't get here in time, we will just have to continue this party tomorrow, and that my friends could all spend the night with me tonight and we could have a "slumber party"!!!

That sounds pretty special to me, doesn't it to you? I'm not sure where we are all going to sleep, but Mommie said not to worry about it. We'll just put blankets on the floor and get lots of pillows and things and we can all sleep on the living room floor tonight!  Wow! That sure sounds like a lot of fun!!

And so, with that announcement we are all excited and running around finding blankets and stuff and getting ready for  our slumber party, so I will say good night to you!

I think this has been a pretty exciting first birthday, don't you?  And Mommie said we will continue this story when my special surprise arrives.

So until then, here's some things to think about:

"Here's to being a child again.

To laughing without a reason,

smiling so that others will do 

the same and believing the best is all around us."

(zox)

"But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; 

for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 19:14

2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:2-4

Thank you all  for being a special part of my first year!  I hope you have enjoyed my little adventures as much as my Mommie has enjoyed helping me have them.  We hope to keep posting new adventures as often as possible and as time and energy permit!

I love you all!

Love,

Lily Grace

xoxoxoxoxo

Lily Grace Celebrates Autumn and a Special Party!

Hello my special Blogland Friends!  I was SO happy to wake up this morning and see so many pretty new decorations in our house!! I asked Mommie what it could all mean?  She said we are celebrating the season of Autumn, or "Fall", when the air starts getting cooler and the leaves turn pretty colors begin to "fall" from the trees outside!  She said we will be watching for those changes when we take our walks in the coming days and weeks, because here in Florida, where we live, it takes a bit longer to really feel and look like Autumn.  We don't have as many pretty trees that get colored leaves like they do up north, and the weather tends to stay pretty warm until later next month.

But Mommie said we don't have to wait for the leaves to change and the air to get cooler outside to get ready for autumn inside!  And so, when I must have been sleeping, Mommie asked my big brother Scotty to bring in the boxes of fall decorations from the shed so she could start decorating. I was so excited to see all these pretty things! You see, I wasn't living here last year when autumn came here, so I never saw any of this before! It really is quite exciting!  

I asked Mommie what all those things meant on that sign:

"Hay Rides, Apple Picking, Bonfires, Raking Leaves, Corn Maze, and Pumpkin Patch".

She said those are kinds of fun things that people love to do during the fall season. Sadly, we don't have any apple orchards here in Florida, so we can't do that. But if we look hard enough, we might be able to find some of the other places to do those things.  We can make a bonfire right here in our own back yard too. And we will have some leaves to rake eventually!

Mommie said that autumn is also the season when we have Thanksgiving, and we will have a big gathering of family and friends to celebrate and eat turkey and give thanks to God for all our many blessings.  Of course, we give thanks to God everyday for all our blessings. We don't have to wait for Thanksgiving to do that! But Thanksgiving is very very special. I can't wait to eat my first Thanksgiving dinner with all our family!

Mommie said most all we want to be "grateful" for all that God has done for us.

I noticed something else.  This pretty teacup as pretty purple flowers on it, and inside the cup it says "September".  

Mommie really likes that cup because September is her birth month! She said later this month we will celebrate her birthday! Oh goodie! I can't wait!!! I love birthday parties...as you will see in a few minutes...

But first, we had to visit the "Scarecrow Crossing".  I asked Mommie, "what's a scarecrow?"  And she said it was a funny man made of straw and old clothes on a post in the garden to scare away the crows from the garden!  She said the crows would think it was a real person standing there, so they wouldn't want to come near that garden.  

I think he's cute, don't you?  He wouldn't scare me!  I would just like to make friends with him!

I found a funny owl! Mommie said this owl is really like a little candle, to add some light to our darker nights in the fall. The sun goes down earlier in the autumn, so Mommie likes to burn candles and lanterns and stuff to make pretty lights. Maybe we will have to take some more pictures later when the candles are lit.

And I jumped when I saw  this thing!  What is this, Mommie?  She said this is called a "Jack-o-Lantern", and even though this pumpkin is made out of ceramic, usually in the fall Mommie likes to get a real pumpkin and take all the seeds and stuff out of the inside, and cut a funny face in it like this, and put a candle inside and put it outside on a special day called "Halloween".  Mommie said we will talk more about that later, but that Halloween comes in October, and it is also lots of fun. She said some people try to make it really scary, but we just like to have fun on Halloween. But she said we'll talk about that more next month!

But NOW to the SPECIAL PARTY!  Last night we celebrated my big brother Benton's 50th birthday!! Can you imagine  that????  

He must be OLD!

Oops, when I said that, he did this to me!  Mommie said that wasn't nice. Even my sweet big sister "Auntie Rose" didn't think that was nice, can you tell?  

Anyway, we had a really special meal of lasagne and salad and garlic toast and the birthday cake for dessert!  Wow! I was sure stuffed after that meal!

Here's the rest of the family enjoying that dinner!!!

And then we celebrated Benton's birthday with cake and ice cream!

Here we are all singing Happy Birthday to him!  It was such a happy time.

Especially happy because my big brother Benton and my sweet Sister Auntie Rose were both SO sick on his real birthday a few weeks ago, and so we had to postpone his party.  We are SO happy that they are all better now. Mommie said Jesus really worked a miracle to help them get well, and we are very very thankful.

So when we get to that special Thanksgiving day later in the fall, we will definitely add THAT blessing to the list of things to be thankful for!

So, that's all my latest news! How about YOU?

Do you decorate your house for autumn too?  Do you celebrate birthdays and do special things with your family when you can?  Mommie said that life is short and we need to celebrate whenever we can!

Okay, friends, I have to go now.

So bye bye and remember, Jesus Loves You, and I do too!

Love,

Lily Grace

xoxoxoxxo