Good Read To Help You Cool Off In The Summer...A Holiday Christmas Story

Fairy Tales Do Come True By Laurel Marie Sobol This book belongs to __________________________________________ A Busy Day     This is the story about a very special family of five caring people. They lived in a cottage in the woods not far from a quaint village with a gigantic castle nestled in the mountains above. The family members are Papa Coleman, Mama Marie, littlest sister Laura, middle sister Sophia , and big sister Vivian. The family all loved each other dearly. Papa and Mama loved their children dearly and the children loved their Papa and Mama dearly too. The circle of love in this family is very great as are the adventures they come across as they make little things in their lives add up to a grand adventure of hope, happiness, and hardship more of a learning experience and reason to pray more often. The cottage was lovely with white wooden shutters on the inside of every window. The house had a creamy white interior with hardy wooden furniture throughout. The cottage had two stories with the living room, family room, kitchen and dining rooms downstairs. Mama and Papa kept the cottage nice and clean with the help of their three lovely children. Papa and Mama and the girls loved how nice the house was kept and took pride in keeping the house in order. Papa loved his big brown leather covered rocking chair and enjoyed looking over the news and chatting with his family as he rocked or reclined in his chair by the fireplace. The upstairs of the cottage had the bedrooms and laundry room as well. Every day the family would get up and start their day with morning prayers with God in their hearts. Usually Papa was up earliest and he often made fresh whole bean coffee to sip from his cup as he reclined in his big chair catching up on the weather and news from the TV and internet. The family was a nice friendly one with lots of humor and good times found in almost any situation. Mama was sweet, kind and gentle, and she loved her family with all her heart just like Papa. Papa and Mama together did their very best to raise their kids in the best ways they knew how to. The girls were all smart and pretty and good to each other and their parents. The family would face hard times time and again, but their love for God and each other kept them strong and loving. Today was a holiday in the village and the family was excited to go to it because in the village there was a special bakery that made special cakes and cocoa to drink. The kids got ready first because they were so excited. They had their sweaters and tennis shoes on along with their spending purses held tightly in their hands. Their purses also had ipods with earphones already attached. It was going to be a great day! Papa and Mama were ready before long and they all got into the carriage with the two beautiful black ponies ready to lead them to town. Papa took the reins and said, "Giddy-up Zorro and Rosie!" The ponies lifted up their heads and held them up high as they started to prance off towards town. Excited faces looked out of the carriage windows as they went along. Littlest sister, Middle sister and Bigger sister put on their ipods and let the wind blow through their hair. Papa began to sing a holiday song for everyone to hear, "Dashing through the snow in a two horse open sleigh laughing all the way! Bells on bobtails ring making spirits bright, oh what fun it is to ride a singing sleigh tonight! Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way..." All the family joined in the singing as the carriage went on and rounded a bend down the lane. The village was about a mile from their cottage and it took Papa about twenty minutes to get there. Papa slowed the ponies down to cool them off before they got to the stable as he neared the village and town center. From the carriage the whole family could feel the holiday spirit all around town. Beautiful angel decorations lined the village streets and holiday red and green banners hung from the store fronts. Giant evergreen wreaths with bells and red velvet ribbons hung from every lamp post down Main Street. Small groups of caroler’s walked up and down the sidewalk singing holiday tunes. We could hear them singing, "Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, oh come ye oh come ye to Bethlehem! Come and behold him, born the king of angles. Oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!" They carolers sang so beautifully that everyone was awed and completely in the holiday spirit. The air was cold and crisp and a wintery fog permeated throughout the village. It was looking a lot like Christmas everywhere they went. Papa hitched up the horses at a horse boarding house and let them feed from little baskets hanging from their heads. They would be warm and comfortable in the stable while the family went about their holiday celebrations in town. The family was excited with the holiday season in full swing. Mama began to sing a Christmas carol and everyone joined in, "Hark the harold angels sing, glory to the new born king. Peace on Earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all ye nations sing, glory to the new born king! Christ is born in Bethlehem!" Ma sang when she was happy most of all. She sang in alto, soprano, and even tenor. Mama would sing in soprano more often if she didn't get a migraine headache when she did. Mama rejoiced in song again as her voice lifted up into the heavens, "Joy to the world the King is born. Let Earth receive her King, let heaven and nature sing, let heaven and nature sing, let heaven and heaven and nature sing!" Sometimes Mama or her kids sang off tune, but nobody seemed to care about that. Singing was what mattered, so sing they did. The kids got thirsty from all the singing and Papa and Mama both suggested, "How about getting some hot steamy cocoa to warm us up out here on this fine day, which seems to be cooling off rapidly?"   "Oh yes, please lets get some hot cocoa, yummy!" said all three girls at once. So they headed to the café where cocoa was served up and Papa ordered five drinks of cocoa covered with whip cream, bittersweet chocolate pieces and candy cane bits too. They all took their sweet time about drinking the cocoa as it warmed them up inside. The air was getting colder and colder by the minute now and the sun was fading into the cold mist of early afternoon. They peeked into various curiosity shops and gift stores filled with toys and things before they made their way back to Zorro and Rosie who were waiting for them in the stable. Papa asked, "Well family have you all enjoyed yourselves in town today? Are you all ready for our country ride home? Mama, will you help me get the cloaks and wraps from the trundle box in the back of the carriage before we go so that we all keep cozy and warm on the way home?" Mama sweetly replied, "Let's go now and get them honey. Let's get some extra woolen blankets too so we can all bundle up in them to be sure nobody gets a cold!" Papa and Mama went to get the warm coats and blankets and Mama helped spread them around the children and then for herself and Papa. Papa had paid the stable attendant and hopped onto the carriage and away they went as Papa guided the prancing horses carefully through the still busy streets filled with people passing by. The crisp air felt nice on them all since they were bundled so well in coats and blankets and the ride home was quite comfortable and cheerful. Papa began to sing and everyone joined in, "Oh holy night, the stars are shining brightly, a new son is born in Bethlehem! Silent night, holy night..." Their voices trailed behind them like sparkles of sun lit snow in the wind. Then they were out of sight around the last bend toward home. As they got home the horses sniffed the wind, shook their heads, tails and manes and happily stomped their hooves on the soft grass beneath their feet. They loved to get out for an outing just as much as they loved getting back to their warm heated stalls filled with fresh clean hay. The Cozy Evening Chapter Two  Papa had just come inside the cottage and washed up after he had unhitched Zorro and Rosie from the carriage. He said, "Good ponies, you did a nice job bringing us to the village and back to our cottage again." He cleaned them with a curry brush, gave them room temperature water that wasn't too cold because he didn't want them to get colic. Then he brushed them until they were gleaming from head to toe. He took a few sweet apples from the apple bin and gave each pony an apple as he patted their noses and rubbed their shiny velvety necks. Then he got their grains and hay ready so they would have all they needed to eat before he returned to feed them the next morning. He carefully closed the stable doors and went into the cottage and his nose danced with delight as the odors from the kitchen wafted by him. He peeked his head into the kitchen to see what was for dinner and gave a nice smile of approval. Mama caught him peeking into the pot and said, "Papa dinner is almost done so please go and wash up before you come to the table to eat." Papa looked at her and gave her a kiss before he went to wash up. He went to the living room, sat in his recliner by the fire, and patiently waited for dinner to be ready. A peaceful expression spread across his face as he settled comfortably in his recliner drinking in the warmth of his home and the wonderful cooking odors wafting out from the kitchen to his nose. Papa could easily have taken a snooze if dinner wasn't going to be done so soon. In the kitchen Mama, Laura, Sophia and Vivian were busy preparing dinner and putting finishing touches on the salad. Mama was ladling the chicken, carrots with onions and spiced with Rosemary, onto the plates one by one and handed the plates to Vivian for her to put on the table. Mama tended to serve the first plate to the youngest child, and went in order of age till she got to Papa. Mama always served herself last and never ever minded if the food cooled because she could always heat it up in the microwave oven that was located above the cooking stove. Mama said, "Sophia please call Papa and tell him dinner is done." Sophia called, "Papa, dinner is ready now!" Papa was in the kitchen in no time at all. He looked around the table at his loving family and settled into his chair eager to begin eating. Mama said, "Papa would you like to say the prayer tonight?" Papa replied with a prayer, "Thank you God for this food we are about to eat and bless us all!" The food was steamy hot on the table and everyone began to eat. The food was as nutritious as Mama could make it, the chicken gave protein, the onions fought off disease, and the carrots were high in fiber and vitamin C. After dinner the kids each helped to clear the table, clean the table, sweep the kitchen and dining room floor, and wash the dishes. Mama rinsed most of the dishes and helped the children here and there with their chores. She loaded up the dishwasher and put the cleaning sponge in it too, then she started the dishwasher and made sure it had an extra rice to make sure the chemicals were all washed off the dishes and silverware. Vivian always did the best job at sweeping, and Mama depended on her help to mop the floors on the weekend, usually on Saturday. Sophia and Laura often traded chores most and liked to sweep the floor most of all. Mama said, "Girls, thank you for your help in the kitchen today, teamwork gets the job done. You've all done a very nice job." After the kitchen was nice, clean and tidy, the lady folk went into the family room to sit by the fire with Papa. There in the family room everyone loved to read books and enjoy each other's company. Mama made sure that all and any homework was completed and checked before all the girls drifted to their various hobbies and interests like playing together. Mama liked to gather the family together after an hour or so and say, "We're having story time now so let's be still and listen to it, shall we?"   Everyone loved a good story, and there was no shortage of good reading material in the library located in the living room. Mama sat back in her recliner with her lamp light on beside her, the girls made themselves comfortable on the couches and stools about the fireplace, ready to hear Mama read. Papa was just as eager to hear the story as he sat back ready to enjoy a good story. The fire glowed softly in the fireplace as Mama proceeded to read from the book.   As Mama read on everyone got a little sleepier and the stage was set for a good night’s sleep filled with happy dreams for all. Mama said, "Well that's it for tonight, now it's time to brush your teeth and get ready for bed." With that everyone got up and readied themselves for a good night of rest. Mama and Papa tucked the kids in, kissing them goodnight a telling them, "We love you very much dear ones all." Mama and Papa often talked over the events of the day as they too prepared for bed. Though sometimes they fell straight to sleep too because raising three busy girls was a big job. This night Papa remembered his prayers and drifted off to sleep thinking about the lovely ride home from the village, he whispered softly to God, "Thank you for this beautiful day, and please bless us all." Mama said, "Goodnight Papa I hope you sleep well tonight." Mama went to sleep with prayers in her heart for her family and the world. The children were saying the last of their prayers as they drifted into sweet slumber. Getting Ready For Christmas   The night passed swiftly as everyone slept peacefully dreaming sweet happy dreams. Papa dreamed about a new carriage he had a fancy to buy. Mama dreamed about the next painting she was going to paint. Vivian dreamed about the funny videos she had seen on her iPod that week. Sophia dreamt about fairies and sugarplums and Laura dreamed about Santa Clause coming down the chimney for Christmas. Morning came with some straggling rays of winter sunlight filtering through the windows into the cottage. The aroma of freshly made pancakes was wafting through the cottage from the kitchen below as Mama made a huge stack of unbleached flour pancakes for everyone. The girls quickly got dressed in warm clothing and ran down the stairs as fast as they could go to get to the kitchen first. Vivian was first, followed by Sophia, then Laura.  The girls took their place in line next to Mama standing by the stove as they prepared to take their fresh hot pancakes from Mama as she used her spatula to lift each pancake carefully out of the pan onto the pastel colored ceramic plates. Mama handed each child a fork with their plate and everyone took their places at the kitchen table. Papa was downstairs in a jiffy too, and he sat down at the table to wait for Mama to bring him his plate so he could begin to eat. Once everyone was at the table ready to eat Papa said, "Dear God, we thank you for the food we are about to eat, and please bless us all." After Papa said the prayer everyone nodded their heads in agreement and plunged into their hot off the griddle pancakes. The cakes were hot, butter melted off them down their sides, and hot maple syrup was poured liberally over the pancakes before they were eaten completely. Mama used to be able to eat pancakes like everyone else in her family, but now she could not because for some reason the wheat in the pancakes made her allergic. It took Mama a long time to realize she could not eat wheat and flour as she once had, thank God now, because she was feeling much better without eating much of it. Mama could still eat a little wheat every day, just not a lot of it. Mama wanted everyone in her family to be as healthy as possible and as trim as they could be by eating healthy foods. After everyone had eaten their pancakes and washed them down with milk and orange juice, Mama said, "Vivian please clear off the table and Sophia you clean it. Laura, you can help your bigger sisters with their chores. Thank you girls." The girls all did their chores. Mama tried to be fair and reasonable about rotating the chores so that each child didn't have to do the same thing day in and day out. Today was another celebration because the two Christmas trees were going to be put up and hopefully decorated. Vivian was going to get the eight foot tall tree out of the garage and Sophia was going to get the five foot tall tree and bring it into the cottage too. Sophia was first into the house with her tree and she said, "Here is the little tree!    Should I put it in the living room or upstairs?" She proceeded to bring it into the living room where she set it up by herself.  The top would not go onto the tree, so the tree sat that way for a long while. Then Mama figured out how to put it onto the rest of the tree and she brushed the worry lines off her face… Mama stood back proudly from the tree and looked at it with pride. Sophia and Laura decorated it by themselves and carried it upstairs into the main hall where they continued to decorate it some more. The girls were so precious and sweet as they took each decoration out of the decoration boxes and carefully selected a spot for that special decoration.  Vivian had taken her time about getting the bigger tree out of the garage because it was so big and ungainly. She didn't ask for any help when she did get the tree out of the garage a few days later than she had wanted to get it into the house. Vivian was most helpful to her Mama and Papa and because she was a teenager and strong she made a big difference with the least thing she did every day.  Papa and Mama were very proud of their children and always teaching them about everything they knew to help them be the best people they could be. Once Vivian got the big tree into the house, she breezed through the kitchen into the living room and had the tree parts out of the box before Mama even noticed. Sophia and Laura were quick to come and help her but she didn't want them to get in her way.  Sophia and Laura begged, "Vivian please let us help you put the Christmas tree together. We promise to do what you ask us to do and we won't get into your way!" Vivian looked at her younger sisters and gave in as she said, "Okay you can help me but you must follow my directions or we'll never get this tree put together. Come on now, you can start helping me now. Let's get going!" Before Mama knew it the tree was up and standing at its' full height of eight feet tall. When Mama looked into the living room again the girls had already put all the strands of lights on it and around the room too. Mama said, "Can you believe it Papa, the girls have already put the big tree up in the living room! And they've decorated it too!" Papa beamed with pride as he walked into the living room and praised their good work, "Girls the tree looks grand and wonderful, you've done a great job!"  Papa and Mama gave each girl a big hearty hug and a 'high-five' along with big smiles for everyone. Papa and Mama were so glad to have such helpful family members that worked like a team for the best interest of the family. "Team work got the work done," Papa proclaimed most all the time. He was right, team work did get the job done. One of Mama's favorite sayings came from Charles Ingalls and she loved to repeat it time and time again as she never tired of it, "You can't always win all the time, and when you lose you never lose without something to gain." Interesting philosophy which Mama knew to be so very true and inspiring as well. We are now ready for Christmas everybody because the trees are all decorated and beautiful, and the true meaning of Christmas isn't about what you get for Christmas or what you give. Mama always reminded her family every year, "Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, God's son. Let us rejoice each and every one!" Christmas Eve   Christmas Eve is finally here and the children were very excited. The girls all rushed up to Mama asking, "Since its Christmas Eve can we open one present each?" Rosy happy faces looked at Mama with their eyes all glowing in anticipation of opening a present. Mama looked at them, just a mite sheepishly, saying, "Girls, you have each had enough presents already! You won't have much to open on Christmas morning if you open three today!" Mama wanted to let them open some presents, but she had given in a few times in Christmas's past, and she knew that the kids would really be disappointed if she let them open the ones they had now. The trees were all lit up with the lights shining on the Christmas trees. The children were not waiting for Mama's decision alone, they approached Papa and asked him, "Papa can we please open one present each today?" They looked at him with anticipation as they inquired but Mama had overheard them and said, "No, girls, you must wait until Christmas like I just told you. Tomorrow you will be happy that you waited." A while later while Mama was reclining in her rocking recliner Vivian came up to Mama asking, "Mama here is a present you must open, I insist, and it is for Laurel too!" It did not take too much persuasion to convince Mama to open the present. Finally she agreed to open the gift and with a sheepish look she took the present extended to her from Virginia. Mama looked into Vivian's face and the warm glow shining from her heart and her eyes made Mama feel very happy and content. Mama opened the light blue foil wrap carefully on one end very slowly and proceeded to unwrap more then had to stop because Vivian had got a hold of it and quickly unwrapped the rest of the paper. She handed the gift to Mama. Mama took the gift, a book called 'Little Town on the Prairie' and her eyes opened wide in surprise. This was just what she had wanted, thought she had not told anyone that she could remember. She said to the girls, "How did you know I wanted this very book? I am so glad to have it, thank you so much Vivian, and both of you girls too." She tucked the book aside to read later and she knew that everyone would want to read it too, well the kids anyway. Sure enough a short while later Mama noticed Vivian sitting on the loveseat reading that very book and she said, "I see you have found my new book, reading it already? Of course you are!" Vivian knew a good read and often told her sisters and parents about especially good ones. Mama loved it when Vivian, Sophia, and Laura read to her. If there was absolutely one thing Papa and Mama loved, it was to hear their children read to them, and read they did. Mama made sure everyone was ready for bed before the show started after a while. They were going to watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' starring James Stewart. Everyone settled comfortably in seats around the TV and the little Christmas tree which had been brought downstairs earlier. The show started and went on until George Bailey got married to his wife. Mama got tired then and told her family, "I'm too tired to watch any more of this show. Plus you kids need to get to sleep before Santa Clause comes, or he won't come because you didn't get to bed and he won't come unless you are in bed sleeping! So it's bedtime now girls!" The girls said good night to Papa and Mama followed them up the stairs to tuck them in for the night. Christmas Eve was mellow and sweet and the cottage smelled like the delicious sausage stuffing with red and yellow peppers...Yes, today had been a very nice day and Mama said many grateful prayers to God before she fell asleep with a prayer in her heart, "God please bless everyone." Papa said goodnight to everyone as the girls and Mama went upstairs to tuck the children in their beds for the night.

                                                                                                                                     

	Christmas Day

 

 Laurel loved the holidays and Christmas was extra special to her and her family.  Christmas morning was a miracle as long as Laurel’s family was together.  She loved her family.  Christmas was a changing thing in Laurel’s heart and she tried to communicate this change with her family.  Christmas was no longer the feeling of getting special things for Christmas, which it had been a part of for so long, no Christmas was something much deeper, it was the celebration of a young new baby boy named Jesus, the son of God.  When Laurel kept her focus on the reason for the season everything seemed to get better, the rush to get things done and have the perfect Christmas dissipated. 

  It was now more of how Laurel felt about life, about God, and the gift God gave to bring his son to earth such as he did.  Whenever anyone asked Laurel what she wanted for Christmas, the answer hardly changed after that, “I want my family here and perhaps a little chocolate and fruits in my Christmas stocking.  I also want a fresh cup of organic café.”

  Laurel loved Christmas morning, and finding her stocking with organic candy canes, organic oranges, and organic chocolate.  This together with her organic coffee spending the day with her children and husband thinking about the blessings of God, and especially of one amazing and miraculous son named Jesus and the birth of this miracle man. 

  Gifts come and go, years come and go, but the feeling of joy and goodness inside to feel just right is the most lovely gift of all.  Knowing that you are living your life like God wants you to live, giving of yourself abundantly so that others can love God more is a most precious gift too
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