Happy October!

Hello my friends in Blogland!  I am so excited that it is the month of October already!!  

I love looking at these pretty pictures on the calendars...this one in particular is from Mommie's Country Seasons calendar by the artist John Sloane:

And then there is this other pretty picture for October on calendar by the artist Abraham Hunter:

Which one do YOU like best?  I think I like the first one best. I love that old dog sleeping on the lawn, and the apples and the pretty red truck.  But I also like the deer and the geese and the old house and barn and tractor in this one.  It's hard to decide...I think I just love October and all the color and beauty if brings!

Mommie said I remind her a lot of "Anne of Green Gables"...and she has read some of her stories to me from this old old book... 

Can you see just HOW OLD this book is?  I guess the picture isn't very clear, but it says 

"Copyright 1908"!   That's a LONG time ago!!  113 years ago, to be exact!

Mommie said that's even older than her mother, but this book once belonged to her mother, 

my Grandma "Dorothea".

Do you see above where Grandma Dorothea wrote a note?  It says "2-24-85, Purchased from  Old Book Seller at Florida Twin Markets, Rt 441-Mt. Dora,  FL."  Mommie said Grandma liked to identify her old books and put her name in them...especially books that meant a lot to her.  And she LOVED Anne of Green Gables, so this book definitely meant a lot to her.

Anyway, Mommie said I remind her of Anne because she loved October too!

You can read what Anne said below:

Did you see where Anne said, 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it?"

Well, I have a surprise for you!! Looky here who I found!

Right there on "Scarecrow Crossing", I found Anne of Green Gables, along with my friend the Scarecrow, Mr. Jack o' Lantern, and Mr. Owl!  I knew I would fine Anne there, because there were pretty autumn leaves and colors there at "Scarecrow Crossing", and Anne just loves the beautiful colors of the maples leaves and flowers...

Mommie said that she knew Anne and I would be the best of friends.  I love making new friends, don't you?

Speaking of special friends, do you remember when I met my beautiful cousin Shannon a few months ago?  Here she is with me:

I know she just loved me so much and I loved her too. We kind of were "kindred spirits" like Anne of Green Gables was with her friend Diana.  Well, anyway, I must get to the point.  Mommie said it would be okay if I tell you this today.  Yesterday my beautiful cousin Shannon was in a very bad car accident, and she ended up in the hospital.  She had to have some surgery today to fix some badly broken bones, and she is going to have a long time to recover from her injuries. But, Praise God! She wasn't hurt in her head or inside her body or anything that could be "life threatening", but her injuries to her bones are still very serious and it will take a long time to heal.  Mommie said that we should ask our friends here in Blogland to pray for Shannon.  She is a senior in high school and this is going to be really difficult for her. She may have to be in a wheel chair for quite a few weeks until she gets well.

So, will you please pray for my beautiful cousin Shannon?  I know she will appreciate it, and so will I. I hope maybe I can go visit her when she gets back home from the hospital so I can cheer her up. I think she'd like that, don't you? Maybe we could take her some pretty fall flowers to decorate her room. She loves pretty flowers and things. 

Mommie said Shannon may have some questions about why this has happened. It is very hard to understand these things.  But Mommie showed me a Bible verse that I like, and I hope Shannon might like it too.  This is what is says:

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Mommie said that God must have wonderful plans for Shannon.  The accident was so bad, she could have been hurt so much worse, or even have lost her life.  But God has a plan for her life, and it is a good plan. He has a purpose for her, and He wants her to have hope and to trust Him. Will you pray for her that she will learn more about what God's plans are for her life, and that she will truly seek God with all of her heart?  I know that will help her to feel better when she knows that Jesus loves her and has some wonderful things in store for her life in the future. Right now she just needs to get well. And Jesus will take care of the rest.

Thank you for praying.  I am praying for her too.

I hope you enjoy a happy October like our friend Anne of Green Gables!

Good Night my friends.  God bless you.

Love, 

Lily Grace

xoxoxoxo

Lily Makes a New Friend and The Bluebirds Fly Away!

Well, Today has certainly been a very special day!! So much is happening, I don't know what to tell you about first! 

So we will start with the story of "The Little Engine That Could".  If you read Mommie's blog post yesterday "The Best", you know that we read this special little book to my little friends.  

And so today, Mommie and Daddy had a surprise for me.  We went to the park in our little town where there is a very special little train, just for little children like me! It's called the "Interlachen Express". I was so excited to get to go and play on the little blue engine and pretend I was on the "Little Engine That Could"...."I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

I was having so much fun playing on this little engine, that I never saw or heard a little girl come around to say hello.

But all of a sudden there was this sweet little girl and she had a special friend with her:

She was very friendly and wanted to know my name and if I could play with her and her friend, "Frozen".

She said her name was "Isabella', and she was very proud of her little friend "Frozen", but she said we couldn't touch Frozen because she had special powers and if we touched her it would take her powers away.  But she was so nice, and she actually did let me touch her dolly.

We had such a nice time, and Isabella wanted to know if I could come back and play with her again sometime. She said she is out of school now and likes to come to the playground.

Mommie took our picture on the little train engine.  When Mommie said, "smile", we all smiled as big as we could!  I was so happy to meet Isabella and her friend Frozen. I do hope we can meet again someday and play.

Before we left the playground I wanted to get on the big sliding board, so here I am.  I wonder if Isabella ever gets on the big sliding board? Maybe not yet, because she is a little girl, but maybe someday she and I could slide down together. That would be so much fun!

So that was my very special adventure this morning...but wait, there's still more!

Oh, before I forget, Mommie wanted me to show you what came in the mail for her as a surprise the other day:

Our friend Auntie Pamela has gone back up north for the summer, but she said she saw on one of my posts that Mommie's "One Word" for this year is "Believe".

And so she found this pretty lapel pin online and wanted to send it to Mommie.  Isn't it beautiful?

Mommie said that even though it says it is a "Christmas" pin, Mommie thinks it is something to wear anytime.  It is very very special, and we thank Auntie Pamela for being so thoughtful. 

I believe God wanted her to send it to us, don't you?

And now for the rest of our morning's surprises and adventures:

On our way to the park we stopped by my big brother Benton's house to say hi to him and to Sugar and Spice.  They were so happy to see me:

And I wanted to see something extra special they have at their house right now. They had put a see through bird feeder on their front window where they could watch the birdies come and eat. But instead, a Wren decided to build her nest in there, and now there are baby birds in the nest!! How cool is that? They can actually watch them from inside the house!

If you look very closely, you can see a little head popping up in the nest. There are four tiny baby birds in there!  That is so exciting!

But there's more exciting news than that! Mommie says to hang on to your hat, because there are a lot of pictures and action in these next photos:

Today is the day our baby Bluebirds have decided to leave the nest and fly away!!

We noticed this fella sticking his head out further and further...

Then Mama Bluebird came and gave him something to eat and tried to encourage him to come on out...

Then Daddy came with a juicy grasshopper...look at that big mouth open wide!

Maybe he just teased him with it to get him to come outside, because he looks kind of grumpy below, like, "Hey! Where'd you go with that grasshopper? I'm hungry!!"

"Hmmmph! That's a fine how do you do! I'm getting my feathers all in a ruffle over this treatment!"

"Well, Maybe I just need to stick my head out a little more and see what it's like out here in the big world!"

"Hey! It's pretty neat out here!  And look at those big trees up there! Wow! Maybe I should take a leap of faith and try to fly!" "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

"Look out world, here I come!!"

And with that he gave himself a push and he flew up on our porch roof, and then Mama and Daddy Bluebird coaxed him over to the tree...not sure where he is, but they were making lots of noises cheering him on...

("I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could...")

Not sure who this is, if it is the baby or mama...

"Hey! Wait a minute!! What about ME????"  "Don't Forget about ME!!!!"

And soon we saw #2 bird fly away too to join the rest of them.  We know there were at least 3 birds in the nest, but we didn't get to see all of them leave.  I think they are all out now, because Mama and Daddy aren't bringing anymore food for them.

This picture above show Mama with a mouth full of grasshopper, and a Tufted Titmouse sitting there on the gutter too, (Not sure where he came from)  but one of the baby bluebirds is up on the roof looking around at his new world.

And thus begins the new journey for our Baby Bluebirds....flying bravely into their new world of adventure!  I hope they stay around a while so we can see them , but Mommie says they may soon fly off to other places to join the rest of the flock.  We will wait and see what happens next.

It sure was fun watching them. I am SO happy we got to see at least two of them fly out of the birdhouse. 

Wasn't this a great day for adventure?  

I BELIEVE God wanted us to have this special adventure day today, don't you?

And I am so happy I made a new little friend, Isabella and her dolly Frozen.

I am very thankful to God for these special blessings today. 

This comes from the little devotional book that Auntie Opal gave to Mommie and me called 

"Choose Grace".  Mommie said she thinks it goes along very well with what we are talking about today.

I believe she is right, don't you?

Have a Happy Day, my friends!

God has many wonderful things yet in store for us!

Bye bye for now.

Love,

Lily Grace

xoxoxoxo

 

Wednesday Treasures with Lily Grace

Good Morning Everybody!! I just woke up and Mommie said because it was so cold here today (36 right now), I could put my clothes on over my jammies to help keep me extra cozy and warm! Have you ever done that before? Mommie said when she was a little girl they always had to wear dresses to school, even when it was really cold.  But they allowed the girls to wear pants under their dresses to keep warm.  And so that is what I am going to do this morning! I have my pretty little purple dress on over my jeans and over my jammies!  And I feel all toasty and warm!  

Mommie said that today is Wednesday, and that normally on Wednesdays she likes to write about some special "treasure".  She said that since I came along, her writing schedule has changed all over the place and she is doing things a little differently than before, but that we can still do something about a treasure today too. She said that I am a special treasure! That made me really happy in my heart!

Also, remember yesterday we decided to do the "Joy-Dare" challenge to count and write down three special gifts each day?  Well, today we are supposed to look for "three gifts found in writing".  Mommie said there are so many it is hard to choose just three, but we decided to look in that special book that is sitting on the little tea table above and find some "treasures", and here's what we found: 

(from the book, A Cup of Hope, by Emilie Barnes)

Mommie thought that was so nice, and that it was a kind of "treasure", to know that right now there is "somebody" who loves you.  She said, of course, Jesus loves you all the time too, and that we should never forget that! 

And then Mommie found this card inside the book. Apparently Mommie's sister gave this book to her for Christmas and this was a Christmas card from her to Mommie. Mommie said this was a "gift" and a "treasure", and it really meant a lot to her, so that is why she kept it.  I haven't met Mommie's sister, "Aunt Doris" yet, but I hope to very soon. I hope that she will love me too! Mommie said that once she sees me she will wish she could take me home with her too!

Here is what is written on the back of that special book "A Cup of Hope", by Emilie Barnes:

Mommie said that Bible verse above is also a gift, written to us in God's Word to encourage us and give us hope and joy.

Mommie said it was okay if we had more than three things written to share today, because three is just a suggestion, not a "rule". We can write as many as we want!

This special little sign was a gift to Mommie from her new friend, my new "Auntie Pamela".

She made it especially for Mommie because she said that they are like "two peas in a pod"! Two Pamela's, both have reddish hair, and both love little dollies like me!  Auntie Pamela has a special little Barbie doll that she like to make clothes for too! And she made that darling hoodie for me yesterday, plus other nice things.  So Mommie said that they are like "two peas in a pod".  I think I understand what that means...do you? Isn't this cute?

We sure do have a lot of fun here, don't we?

Well, here's some more fun for the day.  Mommie has introduced me to the little family in Pamela's Victorian Cottage. I hope to get to know them better as the days go by. This morning they came outside to find that some mysterious visitor had decorated their house with Valentine's hearts and lights!  Mama was quite perplexed as to who could have done such a thing, but the children love it and want to find this mysterious guest...

I couldn't wait too long to pop up and tell them, "It was me!!"  They were so surprised and happy and I hope that they will all be my special friends!

Mommie reminded me that "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26)

Well, we hope you have enjoyed this happy Wednesday Treasures day!  I don't know yet what the rest of the day will be like...but stay tuned for more adventures!

Love,

Lily Grace

 

February Brings HOPE!

Hello to all my wonderful friends in Blogland!  I am so happy to have made so many wonderful new friends this past week.  And now it is already a new month! The month of February!! Mommie says February is a very special month because a lot of happy things happen this month. 

(John Sloane's Country Seasons Calendar)

There's Valentine's Day, And President's Day... Mommie said we celebrate the birthdays of all Presidents on that day, but that really only Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington were born in February (that she knows of).  Mommie said she remembers when she was a little girl like me that they used to have a parade on George Washington's birthday (February 22) and a carnival with big rides and games and lots of fun stuff to to do. She said she used to get to march in the parade when she was a Girl Scout and then also as a Junior Majorette, twirling her baton. But she said she got blisters on her heels from the boots they had to wear and it wasn't much fun after that.  I wish I could have seen her then. She doesn't know where any pictures are from then or she'd show me.  But here is a recent picture of some Junior Majorettes from that same parade that they still have every year:

Mommie said she noticed that they aren't wearing boots anymore! She said that was a smart move! She said that her costume was red and white, but that was a LONG time ago!  

I wish I could be a Junior Majorette! That looks like fun!

Oh, Mommie said that my Daddy's birthday is also in February and that we might have a party to celebrate!! Oh, I hope so!! That would be so much fun!

Mommie said that Valentine's Day is a special day for friends and sweethearts to give cards and gifts to each other, like candy or flowers.

I'm happy that I already have my pretty new Valentine's dress to wear!

Yesterday afternoon Mommie introduced me to the "Aunties", also known as "The Martin Sisters". They invited me to come and have a little tea party with them.  So I got to wear my new dress.

Actually, I had met them on my first day here, but I was still wearing my play clothes and I showed them my guitar.  They seemed to think that I needed to dress more appropriately for a young lady, and they would like for me to learn how to play the piano instead of the guitar.  

Mommie said that I could do both, and that it was okay for me to wear play clothes when I am playing, and I will dress up when I visit with special people or go to church.  

She said that "The Aunties" are kind of old fashioned but I do need to learn proper manners and how to visit with older people. Mommie says they are very nice ladies and that they could teach me a lot about how to do things like knit, crochet, sew, and have proper tea parties and such...

So maybe we can do that in the future!  They were very nice to me and I think I will enjoy visiting with them more often!

So this morning Mommie and Daddy and I went for our usual walk. It was kind of blustery and getting colder, so we didn't stay long...but Mommie wanted to see if there were anymore flowers blooming on the wild plum trees:

Look at all those blossoms!! Just since a couple of days ago more and more have popped open all over the trees!

Looky how pretty this is!!! And they smell sweet too!

But look at these trees! They are not very pretty trees, with old Spanish Moss hanging down from the branches, and they look old and dead, except for all those beautiful little flowers opening up all over them! 

And here's another one nearby! Who would believe that these scraggly old trees would have such wonderful blossoms on them?  I asked Mommie how they do that! 

She said that in the fall and winter the trees lose all their leaves and they look bare and like they are dead.  But God made the trees really special, because during those cold winter months they are really kind of like "sleeping" and resting up for the spring.  In the spring the new rains come and water the trees and plants in the ground, and they wake up and drink in all the fresh water and the buds start to form in the branches until they can't hide in there anymore, so they burst forth with new life and the flowers blossom again.  And then, once the flower goes away, a tiny little plum begins to grow and develop where the flower was.  And in a few weeks it grows and grows and pretty soon there is a pretty purple plum where the flowers were! Since these are wild plum trees, the fruit is kind of small, but the birds love them and probably some animals on the ground eat them too when they fall to the ground. It's all a part of God's wonderful way of replenishing the earth with new life every year.

Seeing the flowers blossom in the spring always gives us great hope that something wonderful is going to happen soon!

Speaking of Presidents, one of our former Presidents' First Lady, "Lady Bird Johnson", loved flowers a lot. She had many many wildflowers planted along the highways of our country, to make everything look so beautiful. She is quoted as saying:

"Where Flowers Bloom, So Does Hope".

"But I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more."

Psalm 71:14

Back home at our Still Waters Pond Mommie showed me that the Maple trees around the pond are also starting to "blossom".  Their flowers aren't like a plum blossoms, but they are little tiny red blossoms that will become maple leaves soon and turn green.  She said these are all signs that spring is on its way and therefore we should all have "hope" for better days ahead!

I HOPE you have enjoyed this little adventure today.  Mommie said that we don't always get to go to special or important places, but we enjoy what we have around us and we should thank God every day for the things He provides for us to enjoy, like flowers and Valentines and nice "Aunties" who want to teach us things! And for springtime!

And for YOU, our special friends in Blogland!!

Love,

Lily Grace