A Little This and That

Hello my friends! Happy Tuesday!  We don't have anything in particular to tell you today, so Mommie said this will be a post about "A Little This and That".

We took a ride early this morning. It was still pretty cloudy and not any sunshine yet.

I love to take rides in the car. Mommie said I am a lot like a little doggy who likes to go for a ride, so she let me wear my little doggy shirt today!

We went on that highway where there is a lot of construction going on and I saw this big crane again. I like that it has an American Flag way up on the tip top of the crane!!

We ended up in that little town of Hawthorne again...

I've told you about this little town of Hawthorne here before,  and also HERE

Well, today we took a little ride over there again so Mommie could help her friend do some measuring in this building because her friend is going to put a store there in the near future:

It's going to be a kind of "Emporium", which Mommie says is a fancy word for a store carrying "many different kinds of merchandise."   Our friend is going to have lots of different people selling things there. Mommie said it is not like a "flea market", because these will be nice things that people either make or create and not second hand stuff like at a flea market, unless they are antiques or special vintage items of interest. She is looking for "vendors" to rent space there, so if you live in this area and are interested, or if you know anyone who might be, please let us know and we will let our friend know.

She hopes to get it open sometime next month. Mommie doesn't have anything to sell there but she almost wishes she did, just for the fun of it. But it is still a lot of work and once you start something like that you have to keep it going...kind of like writing a blog...

After we came back home we walked around the yard a little and saw that this rosebud in the Secret Memorial Garden is getting closer and closer to opening up.  It's going to be really pretty. I can't wait to see it!

And in the front yard we have four of these Amaryllis plants that are getting ready to open pretty soon! 

Mommie says they are going to be really pretty.

One day we saw this Red Bellied Woodpecker here at Still Waters Pond. Isn't he pretty?  

He must have been pecking for bugs and stuff in those pine trees beside the pond.

Oh, isn't this cat interesting?  She showed up in our yard yesterday. We've never seen her before, but it looks like she has a collar on. And guess what?  She has a bobbed-tail! Mommie said either something happened to her tail, or she was born that way. Some cats are like that. Mommie wants to know if this is what you call a Tortoiseshell Cat cat?  If so, it is most likely a female.  It is very pretty, but we don't want it around our birds...

It soon ran away when Mommie stuck her head outside to take its picture. It was a very big and fluffy cat.

And actually, she was looking at our Canada Geese in the pond:

They saw her and pushed out further in the pond until she left.

Speaking of the pine trees, have you ever noticed the little crosses on the tops of pine trees just before Easter?

This seems to happen not long before Easter, which makes us think about the cross on which Jesus died on Easter.  Some people think it is just a coincidence, but Mommie says just maybe God does it on purpose to get our attention and to help us prepare our hearts for Easter.

Which reminds me. Mommie put set up our cross for Easter this week.

I am starting to learn more and more about Easter and what it means to us.

It is very sad that Jesus had to die on the cross because of our sins, but Mommie said if He didn't do that, we would still be lost in our sins and not have any way to get to heaven. 

I am happy Jesus died for our sins, but Mommie said the best part about Easter is that He didn't stay dead! He Arose from the dead and is still living today! She said that is why we celebrate Easter.

I still have a lot to learn, but little by little I am starting to understand.

I hope you understand this and believe too.

Okay, I guess I have to go for now. But we will talk about this some more later, Mommie said.

Have a happy Tuesday!!

Bye bye for now,

Lily Grace

xoxoxoxo

 

Rejoice in Each New Day!

Hello to All my wonderful friends!! I am so happy that you have come back to visit me here each day! I feel very blessed to have so many kind and thoughtful friends!  You make me want to "rejoice" in each new day!

That's what Mommie's tea cup said this morning: "Rejoice in each new day!" And then she taught us to sing a special little song to start our day off right. My friends and I sang it like an echo back and forth:

"This is the day!

This is the day!

That the Lord has made!

That the Lord has made!

We will rejoice!

We will rejoice!

And be glad in it,

And be glad in it!

All together:  

This is the day that the Lord has made,

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

This is the day,

This is the day,

That the Lord has made!"

Mommie said she needed to sing that song because when we first woke up we had a little problem.  The dishwasher had a big puddle underneath it, and also some water standing inside the bottom of the dishwasher that shouldn't be there.  Mommie just had the dishwasher worked on last week for a different problem, and now this was a bit scary...because if it has water coming out of it when we aren't home it could flood our house!  So Mommie and Daddy disconnected it from the water and called the plumber. He couldn't come right away, but told them some things to do to check some things out. When that didn't work, he said he would come and not charge them because he was just here last week.  Mommie was happy about that.  The plumber finally came in the afternoon and determined that the dishwasher has problems that will make it too expensive to fix and it would be better to totally disconnect it and get a new one.  Mommie and Daddy decided that they will just do without it for now as they don't use it that much anyway. Mommie said that maybe I could help her with the dishes sometimes!!  That sounds like fun to me!

And so, we decided to go for a walk.  Today was very very cold and windy. Daddy wore this funny thing over his face to keep it warm.   Mommie said I needed something warm to wear because my clothes were just too lightweight for such a cold windy day.

Mommie dug around in a drawer and found this little "baby bunting" that she said belonged to her Tiny Tears doll when she was a little girl.  And guess what! It fit me just fine!  It was so cute with a little hoodie hat and the "bunting" zips up and wraps around me and kept me really really warm.

Mommie was all wrapped up in her hoodie too. They said it was really cold for Florida today!

Mommie said our northern friends would laugh at us because it was a wind chill of 43 degrees, but many of them are in the teens and lower!  I don't really understand all of that, but at least I was nice and toasty in my little bunting outfit. 

Oh, and guess what!!! Mommie was SO excited to see that the wild plum trees are starting to get new buds and flowers on them already! Looky:

Aren't they beautiful?  Mommie says that in a week or so the whole tree will be covered in tiny little white flowers! I can't wait to see it!!! That makes me feel like rejoicing! How about you?

Mommie said she likes these verses from the Bible when thinking about new flowers appearing in the spring:

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:

“Rise up, my love, my fair one,

And come away.

11 For lo, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

12 The flowers appear on the earth;

The time of singing has come,

And the voice of the turtledove

Is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,

And the vines with the tender grapes

Give a good smell.

Rise up, my love, my fair one,

And come away!

Mommie said it really isn't springtime just yet, but these wild plum trees always bloom early.  I loved seeing the flowers...they made me really really feel like rejoicing! 

And then we came home and Mommie introduced me to her Tiny Tears baby doll, who she said she has had since she was a very little girl.  The poor baby has a broken arm because Mommie said she was in a hot attic for awhile and her rubber arms got really dry and cracked.  Mommie was sad about that and said she would never let that happen again, but sometimes things can't be helped.  

But then the bestest thing ever happened!! Oh Dear Aunt Debbi and my identical cousin Tracie! Just wait til you see what came in the mail for me today!!!  Do you remember the nice lady who was here at Mommie and Daddy's house the day I arrived? Her name is Pamela, just like my Mommie's name! Well, I am calling her "Auntie Pamela" now, and she loves to shop for little girls like me.  She found some beautiful clothes for me at a place called "Amazon", and she ordered them for Mommie to give to me. Wait until you see what she found for me for a very low price! Mommie said she could not make  clothes for me as inexpensively as these clothes were, and they are SO nice!! I am SO excited. Wait until you see why:

I got some footie pajamas!!! Now I'll be warm and cozy when I cuddle up to Baby Elva every night.

And look at this pretty pink dress, with shoes, stockings, a bracelet and some pink hair ribbons:

A little purple jumper dress, that Mommie put over my other blouse because she said it was a little too skimpy up top otherwise. Mommie says it is VERY important for little girls (and big girls too) to be modest in the way they dress!

And I was SO excited to have a pretty party dress to wear with my new friends at our tea party!!  They all were so happy to see me wearing a pretty dress like they wear! 

And just in time for Valentine's Day!!  Mommie said this pretty little dress would be nice for Valentine's Day or Christmas either one!  

That is so wonderful!!! I love it!!

Next there is this little play set...it's so colorful and happy...just like me, Mommie says!

And then this cute little skirt and top. I really love the little flowered skirt. 

I love flowers, because, you know, my name is "Lily", and that's a very special flower, Mommie says.

She said she will tell me about that in another "blog" post, because there is a lot to say about it and she wants to give it plenty of room!

'

Oh, I love this little outfit too...cute little jeans with happy pictures on them...and a little striped pink and white top.

That's the end of the fashion show, Mommie says!  But aren't they so sweet?

I am SO happy and thankful for my Mommie and Daddy for taking such good care of me,

and to Auntie Pamela for doing such good shopping, and for my Aunt Debbie and cousin Tracie for sending me here to live, but most of all

I am thankful for JESUS, because He loves me and He is the One Who makes everything so beautiful in this world.  

Mommie taught me this happy song, and I LOVE to sing it before I go to sleep at night:

"Jesus loves me,

this I know;

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak, 

but He IS STRONG!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so!!"

Mommie said that she sang that little song to her baby boys before they were even born, while they were still growing in her tummy.  And then she kept singing it to them after they were born, and she said she would still sing it to them if they'd sit still long enough! But they are grown men now, and one is already in heaven, so he knows how much Jesus loves him for sure!

Well, Mommie said she has to get ready for choir practice tonight, so I have to finish this quick!

Thank you for coming back to visit me. Now I will have some new and different clothes to wear everyday, and that makes me feel so joyful!

I am very very thankful for all of you too.

Bye Bye for now!

Love Always,

Lily

Lillian Grace