Christmas Bells are Ringing, Ringing!

Hello all my dear friends in Bloggyland!  I know it's been a few days, but we've been so busy here lately. I never knew getting ready for Christmas could be such a busy time! Well, mostly for Mommie, but if she's busy, then I don't get to write very often.  Mommie says she is sorry, and this will probably be a longer post since we're making up for lost time!

First of all, I want to show you my very beautiful new Christmas dress!  

It arrived in a very exciting package in the mail last week, addressed to ME, and it said to "Open Now!"

Inside was the beautiful dress, and boots and stockings and all kinds of fun stuff!

And this beautiful picture of my "identical cousin Tracie", wearing the same dress!  Her Mommie, my "Auntie Debbi", got this pretty dress for Tracie, and Tracie wanted me to have one too, and so they sent me one just like it!  I was SO excited I had to put it on right away!! My Mommie said that Tracie and her Mommie are so very very thoughtful and kind.  This made us both so very happy.  Mommie said that sometimes people just love to give gifts and they do it because they love Jesus and they love people, and we can't always repay everyone who gives us gifts, but we can always say "thank you" and perhaps we can do some special kindness for someone else and pass it along.

Mommie shared this special song/poem with me that we sometimes hear or sing at Christmas:

Christmas is all about Jesus' Birthday, and that's why people love to give gifts to one another, to celebrate His birth.  But the most important gift of all is for us to give our hearts to Jesus, and to live for Him...and share that gift with everyone we meet. 

I know I love Jesus, and I want to give Him my heart too.

How about you?

Lately I've  noticed a lot of churches around here in our Christmas decorations.

Mommie even has one on her teacup that she's been drinking her morning tea out of each day:

There's little churches that light up:

And some bigger churches that are like birdhouses...(Mommie said this one really isn't a Christmas decoration, but it stays out all year long because it is so pretty:

Here's another little one over by the skating pond:

And this one is hanging on the tree!

So is this pretty gold one! Mommie said this ornament came from a church where she used to work:

And then of course there's our pretty little church in our "Little Village of Bethlehem" 

One thing I noticed is that all the churches have something called a "steeple". I asked Mommie what's a steeple? And she said it is the place where they hang the bell! Oh! A bell? "Yes, " Mommie said, "and they ring the bells when it is time for church to start or when there is something special happening that they want the people to know about!"

Some church bells even play songs, like Christmas carols, and people can hear them all over town. 

That must be very wonderful to hear! Have you ever lived in a town where the church bells played real songs?  Mommie said that she has, and it was so lovely. One place where she lived they played hymns every day at noontime. It was really beautiful to hear.

Mommie said that especially the churches would ring the bells on Christmas day, to celebrate the Birthday of Jesus!

She showed me some other special little bells on our Christmas tree:

This little Caroler is actually a bell, and Mommie said that her Grandma gave this to her when she was a little girl:

And this special little  angel ornament is ringing bells. Mommie said this one reminds her of my big brother Matthew, who is in heaven now, and maybe he is helping to ring the bells of heaven on Christmas day!

These next three little bells belonged to each of my big brothers when they were little:

Mommie said when my big brothers were little they used to say a little poem when they would hang the bells on the Christmas tree...it went something like this:

"Christmas bells are ringing, ringing.

Christmas bells are ringing, ringing.

Happy Birthday, Jesus dear!

Happy Happy Birthday!

Then they would hang a star in the tree and say:

Christmas stars are shining, shining.

Christmas stars are shining, shining.

Happy Birthday, Jesus, dear!

Happy Happy Birthday!

And here's another beautiful angel ringing some bells:

And then they'd say:

Christmas angels singing, singing.

Christmas angels singing, singing,

Happy Birthday, Jesus, dear!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

And then they'd sing Happy Birthday to Jesus!  I thought that was really really special!

Did you do anything special like that with your family when you decorated the Christmas tree?

Mommie said it is nice to have special traditions and memories...

Well, I guess that's all for today. Oh, one more picture I think you'll love:

This is me with my big sissie, "Baby Elva".  We are both in our pretty Christmas dresses, and guess what! We BOTH have red and white striped stockings!!!  Isn't that special???

We want to wish you a very Merry Christmas!!

Now, let's go ring some Christmas bells!!

Happy Birthday Jesus, Dear, 

Happy Happy Birthday!!

 

Special Days and Special "Gifts"

I know you are probably wondering what these "soldiers" are doing here...

And what do they have to do with my big brother Scott and this bag of Dove candy that he just got as a birthday gift?

Well, Scott makes these "Ninja Warriors" out of those Dove candy wrappers. These are just a few of the many things he has created from the candy wrappers...and that is why people give him bags of Dove candy for every special occasion, like birthdays, Easter, and Christmas...

Aren't they really cool?  He fashions these all by hand, using aluminum foil for a body base, and then covers them with the candy wrappers.

He started creating these "Warriors" when our other brother Matthew passed away after a four year battle with cancer.  Scott wanted to do something special as a kind of "therapy" to deal with the grief of losing his older brother, but also as a positive way to symbolize warriors to fight this deadly enemy.

He actually, at the time, attempted to contact the candy maker to see if they would sponsor a way to manufacture these for charity to raise awareness and funds for fighting the type of cancer that Matthew had, Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor, or DSRCT, but there was no interest from them at the time.

So Scott just continued to make all kinds of other special "gifts" for friends and family... a cheerleader,

A weight lifter,

A golfer and a hockey player for someone who loves watching hockey, 

And many other gifts and unique creations to make people smile...

And so today we celebrated Scott's birthday again, this time with the rest of our immediate family who live nearby, my big brother Benton and his wife Rose, (who I call "Auntie Rose"), and also her sister "Sherrie", (who I call "Auntie Sherrie").

So of course he had to blow out the candles again:

And I got to wear a special birthday hat for the party, (because no one else would wear it!)

And since Scott wouldn't wear the birthday hat, he had to wear "Me with the Hat" on his head!

Ha ha!  I guess we got him!! 

But he's a good sport...

And then we had cake again!! Here I am with MY piece of cake and ice-cream:

Daddy was helping me eat it:

"Auntie Rose" and Benton are back home from their vacation, and they were also enjoying the cake and the party...

Looky! I ate up all my piece of birthday cake and ice-cream!!!

It was a very good party!  

Oh, and just in case you think I don't always eat right, here is what I had for breakfast today:

Yogurt with granola and fresh strawberries and blueberries, and some more of Mommie's home made Apple Bran Muffins and a banana!!! So there! That should make me very healthy, don't you think?

It sure was good!

Mommie said that Birthday parties and gifts are always nice and fun.  But she said there are also other kinds of gifts that are very special, like the "gift" that my brother Scotty has for creating things.

His talent is very unique, and he uses it to bless other people and bring a smile to their faces.  

You don't have to spend a lot of money on things to make people happy. 

 

Mommie also said that  you don't have to do outstanding or remarkable things to please God.

Take whatever you have and offer it up to God as an offering of thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5:1-2

"1.  Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 

2. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."

Hebrews 13:16

"16. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." 

So what I learned from this today was we should use whatever talents we have to please God and to please our families and friends in special  ways.  It doesn't have to be something that we spend lots of money on to make  people happy.  Sometimes just being ourselves, and being kind and good and joyful is a way to bless others, and that is also pleasing to God.  

I hope that this little post today has brought a smile to your face!  Until next time,

Be happy and Be joyful!!

Love,

Lily Grace

The Adventures of Lily Grace

Hi! My name is Lily!  Well, if you want to be proper about it, by full name is 

Lillian Grace, but  most people just call me Lily.

This is my very first picture when I arrived at my new home with all of my baggage...

As you can see, I am a very modern girl, with my very own guitar, karaoke machine, microphone, and boots! I wear boots, with my tie-dyed t-shirt, long lacy jacket and daisies in my hair!

I love to sing and laugh and make people smile, and so that is what I hope to do for you!

I just met my new Mommie and Daddy when I arrived at their home in a special box, delivered by the very friendly but hurried mail lady! I say she was "hurried" because when she arrived at my new Mommie and Daddy's house, she stopped right in front of their house and honked the horn! Can you imagine how startled I was to hear that horn honking? I mean, I had been closed up in a very secure box for several days while I traveled over 300 miles from my identical cousin Tracie's house to my new home.

But then I could hear my Mommie's excited voice as she came running to the mail lady's car and said, "Oh is that a package for me? I bet I know what it is!"  And the nice mail lady slowed down long enough to say, "It must be something special!"  And my Mommie said, "Oh, yes it is!" But she didn't take any more of the mail lady's time...she just whisked the box out of her hands and ran back into the house yelling "She's here! She's here!"  I could hear a nice man saying, Oh! It must be our special package!! And I wondered to myself if that might be my new Daddy! Then I heard another voice saying, "Oh, what is it? What is it?" And my new Mommie was so excited she could hardly talk as she was hurriedly looking for something to remove my protective box so she could take me out of that place right away! I was getting so excited because I knew that any minute I was going to be able to get out of my special box and finally see my new Mommie and Daddy and breathe the fresh air and see the pond and meet all my new friends and family!

Finally Mommie was able to cut away all the special things that were holding me safely in my pretty box, and she was able to pull me out and into her arms...What a happy, happy moment!

At first I was a little dazed from the bright sunshine and the happy smiles all around me. I wasn't prepared for so many people all at once....my new Mommie explained that she had a friend visiting her and guess what? You'll never guess this...but My New Mommie's name is Pamela...and guess what else? Her friend who was visiting was also named Pamela!! I was a little confused as to who was my Mommie if they were both named Pamela, and they were both so excited over my arrival that I think they both would have loved to have claimed me...but my real New Mommie held me in her arms and looked into my face and smiled SO big and looked SO happy, that I knew she must be the right "Pamela" that was to be my new Mommie.

(Please excuse me a moment, because actually I am writing all of this in a letter to my sweet Aunt Debbi and identical twin cousin Tracie, because they are the ones who sent me to my new Mommie, and I know they are anxiously waiting to hear all about my arrival).  

Mommie held me and looked at all of my special things that came with me...oh, Thank you, Aunt Debbi, for the wonderful toys that you sent along with me. My new Mommie was so excited to discover the Dancing Barbie and the beautiful Horse, and the lovely ladies' fan, and oh yes, the telephone and the cute pink teapot! Also she was excited about the nice unicorn ribbon that she says we will do something special with to decorate my special place. Oh, and she and the other Pamela oohed and aahed about the cute outfit I was wearing, and the boots, and the guitar and karaoke machine, and well, just everything was so perfect they both exclaimed.


All this time my new Daddy was taking lots of pictures. He didn't want to have his picture taken, but he was happy to take lots of pictures to capture these happy first moments together. And then, well Aunt Debbi, this is the most exciting part of all...My new Mommie and Daddy and that nice lady named Pamela all talked about what they should name me. I heard them saying several different names that they had been thinking about, but they were all in agreement that they should just think about it for a few minutes and that my name would come to them as they got to know me a little better.

Well...I sat there looking around and thinking about what a wonderful new home this was going to be and I was getting more and more anxious to start checking things out...but somehow the need for a name seemed to be pretty important to everyone. While I listened to the ladies talking about how cute I was and how much they loved my hair and eyes and cute daisies in my hair, and the pretty lacy coat and boots and tie-dyed shirt...all of a sudden I heard my Daddy's strong deep voice say from somewhere on the other side of the room that he thought they should name me "Lily". "Lily!", my Mommie said and the other Pamela said! They both looked at me and said, "Lily! That's a perfect name for you!" Then I heard my Mommie say that "Lily" would be a shorter name for someone they knew named "Lillian"...Oh, they told me that Lillian was my new Daddy's grandmother's name! That made my name extra special...to be named after my Daddy's grandmother...and then my new Mommie said that she really loved the name "Lillian Grace", and that would be my complete name, but that they would call me "Lily", because it just seemed to suit me best!

Mommie said that the name "Grace" stands for "unmerited favor", which came to us from Jesus when He loved us so much that He was willing to die for us even though we didn't deserve such a blessing. But she also said that Grace was an unexpected blessing, and that is what I am to them...an "unexpected blessing". I like my new name...Lily is a beautiful flower and that makes me happy to know that they think I am beautiful, and also that I am special enough to be named after someone so special as a grandmother!! Wow! They must really love me, Aunt Debbi!!

Oh, and then, after a little while my Mommie took me outside to show me the big pond! It is so beautiful, Aunt Debbi! Just like you said it would be!

I can't wait to go exploring a little more, but it looks like it might rain and my Mommie was wanting to come back inside and write to you and tell you all the good news!

I am so excited, Aunt Debbi!! I think I am going to love my new home. My Mommie said that we will take it easy today and not try to do too much my first day here, as I am going to be living here for a long time and we will have many more happy days to have our tea party and get acquainted with everyone. So right now I am standing right here beside my Mommie and watching her write to you as she tells you all about our day so far!! There will be more to come I am sure, but for now my Mommie says to tell you that she loves me very much and that she will be sending you something in the mail soon. I hope you and Tracie aren't too lonely without me! Maybe someday we can all get together again and have a wonderful party! Thank you so much for sending me to my new home.
I think I am going to be very happy here.


Love always,
Lily
"Lillian Grace "...doesn't that sound nice?


Bye for now!! I love you too, Aunt Debbi and Tracie!