Easter Time!

Happy Easter Time everyone!!  Yesterday was Easter, and I hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating that Jesus came out of the dark damp tomb and He's alive!  Here's a favorite song that my Mommie loves to sing on Easter, but she said they didn't sing it at church yesterday like she hoped they would, so we can all sing it now:

We can pretend that I am singing here with all my pretend church friends! 

I hope you enjoy this with me.

Low in the grave He lay

Jesus my Savior!

Waiting the coming day

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes

He arose a Victor from the dark domain

And He lives forever with His saints to reign

He arose! (He arose)

He arose! (He arose)

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch His bed

Jesus, my Savior!

Vainly they seal the dead

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes

He arose a Victor from the dark domain

And He lives forever with His saints to reign

He arose! (He arose)

He arose! (He arose)

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Death cannot keep his prey

Jesus, my Savior!

He tore the bars away

Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes

He arose a Victor from the dark domain

And He lives forever with His saints to reign

He arose! (He arose)

He arose! (He arose)

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Up from the grave He arose

With a mighty triumph o'er His foes

He arose a Victor from the dark domain

And He lives forever with His saints to reign

He arose! (He arose)

He arose! (He arose)

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

So after church was over Mommie and Daddy came home and got ready for lunch. My big brother Benton and his wife "Auntie Rose" were coming over to join us, and my other big brother Scotty too.

Mommie had baked this "oatmeal cake", and my brother Benton had said he wanted a "Bunny Cake" on Easter, so she decorated this cake like a brown bunny eating a carrot! Isn't it a funny bunny cake? Mommie said the important thing is that it tastes good!.  If you want the recipe, you can find it HERE.

So here I am with my Easter basket and my doggy Bailey and all my little Fairy Friends.  Did you get an Easter basket?  It's a family tradition here at our house. But more about that later...

Here's some of my bunny friends along with my fairy friends:

And on the table there's this display of all the special bunnies:

When my big brothers were little boys our Grandma Mursch gave them each a special Easter bunny.  And then Mommie and Daddy added some new bunnies over the years, one for their grandson Noah, (who is a big boy now too)

And this year we added a new bunny for my big sister "Auntie Rose":

Isn't it sweet? Mommie said they picked that one because it was holding a flower kind of like a rose,

and Auntie Rose said it could be a "wild rose"...and we laughed and called her "Wild Rose". She thought it was funny too.

Here's "Wild Rose" and my big brother Benton now, being really sweet as we ate our delicious steak dinner.  Auntie Rose brought the steaks and my brother Scotty grilled them to perfection, and we had baked potatoes, salad, and deviled eggs! I said we shouldn't call them "deviled eggs" on Easter! Maybe they should be "Angel Eggs"!  Ha ha.

My big brother Scotty is kind of crazy sometimes and he likes to make funny faces,

but really he's quite cute.

Here's my Mommie enjoying her dinner.  She said to explain that we didn't all stay dressed up in our Easter finery after church because it was hot and we just wanted to be comfortable and casual.

Oh, Mommie is holding up her special Easter bunny, which was given to her by her Grandma Tedlie, when she was just a very little girl. She said that makes the bunny very very old!

Here's my Daddy enjoying his dinner!  

Now, back to those Easter baskets.  The tradition has always been in our family for the Easter Bunny to hide the Easter Baskets somewhere in the house, and everyone has to find their own basket. If they accidentally find someone else's basket (they have names on them), they have to keep quiet and not tell where it is. 

Anyway, here's my big brother Benton after he found his basket first:

And then my big brother Scotty found his basket next:

He took the bag off of it to show all the goodies inside:

And lastly, "Auntie Rose" found her basket. Usually she's the first one to find hers, but Mommie said the Easter Bunny worked extra hard to hide hers this year because she's so good at finding them so quickly, so she had to work a little harder to find it!

Oh, here's my sweet big sister "Baby Elva", in her pretty Easter dress and bonnet, and she has a chocolate bunny and a "real bunny" to play with! Isn't she sweet? She is wearing one of my Mommie's baby dresses from when she was a little baby, so again, Mommie said it's very very old. And the bonnet may have also been either hers' or my Auntie Doris' bonnet when she was little, and that also makes it very very very old! Ha Ha!  (Mommie said I might get into trouble over those "very very very old remarks" so I'd better be careful!)

Oh, and guess what? I got a chocolate Bunny too!! Yum yum!

I am sharing my Easter basket goodies with all of my friends: 

Rebecca, Valerie, (me), Margie, and Anne of Green Gables.

Here I am with my special sister Margie. Mommie has had "Margie Doll" since she was a little girl of seven years old, which is when her Aunt Margie gave it to her for her birthday!  Aunt Margie was my Grandma Mursch's sister.  Grandma made that pretty dress for Margie Doll a long time ago. Sometimes Margie lets me wear it for special occasions, but she wanted to wear it special for Easter.  

So today my sister "Baby Elva" and I are on baby bird alert:

Here we are sitting by the window looking out toward Still Waters Pond and the Bluebird house.

Bailey and Boo Bear are helping us watch for the appearance of the baby bluebirds.

Mommie said that the Mama Bluebird seems to be slowing down in her feeding of the babies in the birdhouse, because she thinks they are trying to entice the babies to come out of the nest soon.

Here's Mama Bluebird watching the nest:

And lookie who's peeking out the window!

That's one of the babies, watching and waiting for his next meal, but he may have to learn to fly out of there to get it...

So he's sitting inside peering over the edge of the window wondering when it will be safe to come out:

We are watching and waiting just in case he tries to fly!

Speaking of baby birds:

Here's "Colt", the baby Sand Hill Crane.  He is getting taller and taller every day!

His wings aren't big enough yet to fly, but he can swim in the pond to get across from place to place.

It won't be long before his wings will get much bigger and he'll be able to fly with his parents back and forth. And then like the baby bluebirds, he may eventually fly away to start his own family someday.

Well, it's time to bring this Easter time post to a close. I hope you have enjoyed this fun celebration with me.  However, let us not forget what Easter is really all about!

Remember what the Angel told the women at the tomb when they discovered that Jesus was not there:

"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here; for He is risen, as He said..."

Matthew 28:5-6

And then, Jesus came and saw the disciples after He had risen from the dead, and He gave them this "Great Commission":

"Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Matthew 28:19-20

We are supposed to spread the Good News to everyone that Christ is risen from the dead, and also, He told His disciples before He was crucified:

19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. 

Because I live, you will live also." 

John 14:19

That's pretty Good News, Don't you agree?

Happy Easter everyone!!

 

Happy Independence Day!

Since today is still a holiday to celebrate the 4th of July, even though it is actually the 5th of July, Mommie said it would be okay to still write to you about it!

So here I am (above), waving to you all and wishing you a Happy 4th of July on the 5th of July, from our house to yours!

Yesterday we had a nice day.  Mommie and Daddy went to church in the morning in the pouring down rain.  Here is the video from our Pastor's message yesterday, and also if you start at the beginning you will see our choir singing "My Country 'tis of Thee".  This song pre-recorded sometime last year, but it was still pertinent for this special day. And actually Mommie said the whole church congregation sang this with them during the service, followed by everyone reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.  Our church is very patriotic and they love our country and the wonderful freedoms that we have.   Mommie said to be sure and listen to the message too, as it is very good.

Then after church our family got together for a nice barbeque.  My brother Scotty is the grill-master here, and he grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone. They sure were good.

This is him taking a selfie and being silly.

Here's my Daddy, my big sister in love, "Auntie Rose", and my big brother Benton, Scotty, and also a special guest, another of my sister Rose's sisters, Tina, who had come to  help Rose and Benton do some work on some of their furniture projects for their store (Dixie Cottage), and so she also came to have lunch with us. 

Here's another view of the family with Mommie sitting there too.

And here's Mommie and Daddy. 

Mommie wanted me to tell you all that she is very thankful for your prayers for her neck. She will see a specialist this week, but right now she is actually feeling so much better. She said she knows that God has heard everyone's prayers and has answered them by helping her to feel so much better.

She is especially thankful to have received this very lovely card in the mail from one of her blogging friends (you know who you are), and enclosed was this very pretty little cross that was especially made for her.  That really means a lot to Mommie, and she wanted me to share this with you, because it's another reminder of why we love to write this blog and meet so many wonderful people out here in "blogland".  You are dear people who really do care and are the best kind of friends. Thank you.

Mommie said we should show some of our decorations.

I helped Mommie hang this pretty sparkly star on the front door for the 4th of July!

And Mommie bought these pretty colorful flowers at the Dollar General store! They are real flowers, but have been "painted" to be red, white and blue for the holiday!

Aren't they fun and beautiful?

Mommie added this bow to the front door.

We tried to watch some fireworks last night, and we could hear them booming all around us, but we really couldn't see them because of the trees. Plus it was kind of rainy and cloudy and not a very good day for fireworks. Did you see any where you live? They sure were noisy!!

People like to celebrate the 4th of July because it means we are a free country, and we are very happy to live in a land where we are not under mean dictators or evil rulers.

But Mommie said we should always pray for our country, because our freedoms could easily be taken away if the wrong people take over our government.

So we pray for our leaders and thank God for those who have fought so hard to make sure we are free.

Well, I really don't have much more to say. Here's another picture Mommie took of me after we made some egg custard.  Mommie said she was "craving" it one day because her tummy wasn't feeling real good from the medicine she was having to take (which she has since stopped taking and she feels better!)  Egg custard is easy to make, and it tasted so good!!  Mommie cooks it in the microwave, oh and she sprinkles little bits of nutmeg on top to make it taste good.  Do you like egg custard? Mommie said it can also be baked in a pie shell, and that is good too.

Here is a LINK to a former 4th of July post that Mommie wrote a few years ago on her blog.  I like it 'specially because it has a picture of my friend "Margie Doll" on it, all dress up for the 4th of July:

It also tells about some of our family traditions for the 4th of July,  and it has some other very special people in there, so I know you'll enjoy reading it if you haven't already before.  So I will close with that and I hope you have a blessed and wonderful rest of your holiday...and remember, "Freedom isn't free!"

 

Lily Grace Has a Good Good Day!

Today I got to go with Mommie to my brother Benton and "Auntie Rose's" special store, "Dixie Cottage".   We spent the day there so we could help them greet people and sell things. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from the day, so you can see I was busy and being a good helper.

When they showed us how to ring up a customer's purchase in the computer, at first we were nervous. But then Mommie got the hang of it and soon it was easy as pie.  She said we should not be afraid to try new things...we should "Be Afraid NOT to try!" 

Here are some pictures of some of the new items they have in the store that I liked:

This special "server" could make a wonderful coffee and tea bar, don't you think?

Even though their store is mostly for people who have beach homes or condos, they like things like big farmhouse tables too:

And this beautiful china cabinet/hutch makes a great place to store dishes and pretty stuff:

I really loved this pretty little desk, and wish I could have one for my very own! It would be a nice place to sit and write my blog posts to you!

I found these cute mugs...one for an "after school snack", and another that says "Safety 1st,  Drink with a nurse!"  Ha Ha! I guess that would make a funny gift for a nurse!

They have some other nice coffee or tea mugs that would make great gifts. I think Mommie would like one of these, especially the one that says "Believe" on it, since that is her "One Word" for this year!

Or one of these, with a special little pocket for her tea bag!

Or any of these, with nice Bible Verses on them:

Or even one of these, because they are "feathered and fabulous"!  

Now, this was something we all loved...this pretty bench:

You know why I loved it?  You can open up the seat and there is a hidden compartment underneath! I could hide all my treasures in there and no one would ever find them!!! You won't tell, will you? It will be our secret!

This is a pretty tall dresser for a bedroom. I like the American Flag on top, don't you?

And I like those feathered pillows down there too.

I found a mermaid!!! Isn't she beautiful?  I wish I could be a mermaid too! It would be so much fun to swim and swim and swim!!

I also found this tiny little bicycle! It might be a little too small for me, however! But it might fit my friend Barbie!

Here's a nice gift idea: A wooden spoon rolled up in a dish towel! I like the little seahorse on the spoon!

Now Mr. Toucan said that's a whale of a tail!!

When all else fails, PRAY!! Mommie said, "Pray First"...don't wait for "all else to fail"!

I think Dixie Cottage is "My Happy Place"....well, actually, I like being home too...so that would be a nice sign to hang on the wall here at home, don't you think?

Hey Lookie! I found some more whale friends!  I think they are so cute!!! Daddy Whale, Mama Whale, and Baby Whale, all stacked up on top of each other!

In case you get hungry, they have some good jams and jellies and marmalade and chutney...I am not sure what that is, but it looks good enough to eat!

Here's another "whale of a tale"

You know, if we could just "enjoy the little things" in life, we'd all be a lot happier!

Just like what this little devotional and Bible verse tells us:

Yes, on a day like today, I want to sing praises and rejoice! It was a good good day!!

I hope you had a good good day too!

Bye Bye for now!

Love,

Lily Grace

xoxoxoxo