agreement.
“I know that red foxes are pretty fast on their feet, and if that one wanted your cats, he would have had them, just like that.” Grandpa snapped his fingers. “Why, I’ll bet those cats are having as much fun with that fox as he is with them.”
“Knowing Boots and Lucky, they’re probably just out of reach, teasing the fox like they do Twinkles.” Mattie looked over at Mark. “Right?”
“Maybe so,” Mark said with a nod.
“See there, all that worry was for nothing.” Grandpa smiled. “Hey, how about letting me try blowing some of those bubbles?”
Mark handed Grandpa the bottle of liquid, and Grandpa blew a large bubble. “See that?” he said, as the bubble floated above their heads.
“Jah,” Mark and Mattie both said.
“Well, my daed used to have an old saying about worry and bubbles.”
“What was that, Grandpa?” Mark asked.
“When someone in my family started to fret about something, Dad always said that worries were like bubbles—they’ll soon blow away.”
Mark rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought about what Grandpa had said. He’d never thought about worry being compared to a bubble before. He was about to ask Grandpa if he thought that was really true when he caught sight of his two cats leaping through the tall grass. As they neared the barn, they raced through the open door.
“They’re safe!” Mark and Mattie hollered at the same time.
Mark sighed with relief.
C HAPTER 7
Secret Gifts
For the next several weeks, Mattie set her worries aside. With the holidays in full swing, her spirits were lifted. The air seemed like it was charged with excitement, and she could hardly stop smiling. Thanksgiving had been a wonderful time with her family around the table, sharing a tasty meal. Mattie’s favorite part had been the turkey and moist stuffing, but the pumpkin and apple pies were delicious, too. Now she looked forward to Christmas, which was just three weeks away. Every free moment, Mattie spent working on Christmas presents for everyone in the family, like she was doing today. Since it was Saturday and all of her chores were finished, she’d gone upstairs to her room to work on some of the gifts still needing to be done.
Mattie didn’t have much money saved up, so she’d decided to make all the gifts she’d be giving to others this year. It was actually fun to create some neat things, and she hoped everyone would like the secret gifts she had made. So far, she’d created felt pouches for both Grandpa and Grandma Miller to keep their glasses in. For Grandpa Troyer she’d taken an old ring-binder notebook, decorated it with fabric squares cut into a patchwork pattern and then glued to the binder. When Grandpa Troyer’s arthritis wasn’t acting up, he liked to work in the garden, so Mattie had added a gift tag that read: G RANDPA’S G ARDENING N OTES . She’d also made a three-ring binder for Grandma Troyer and decorated it with light blue material, pieces of lace, and some strips of white ribbon. On Grandma’s note tag Mattie had written the words: G RANDMA’S R ECIPES . Since Grandma liked to cook a lot, Mattie thought she would enjoy having her own recipe book.
Using a piece of pink-colored felt, Mattie had made a special little case where Mom could keep her needles and pins. She’d decorated it with a red heart on the outside and a matching piece of red felt on the inside to stick the needles in. Mattie’s gift for Dad was a small tin she’d gotten from Mom that used to have tea in it. Mattie had painted it and added the words: D AD’S K EYS . Since Dad often lost his keys, she thought this would be a good gift for him.
Recently, Mattie had finished three bait containers that could be used for fishing. She’d made them from empty coffee cans she had secretly hidden in her closet. She thought Calvin, Russell, and Ike would like how she’d painted the cans, using a different color, with their names on each one.
Using sheets of craft foam,
“I know that red foxes are pretty fast on their feet, and if that one wanted your cats, he would have had them, just like that.” Grandpa snapped his fingers. “Why, I’ll bet those cats are having as much fun with that fox as he is with them.”
“Knowing Boots and Lucky, they’re probably just out of reach, teasing the fox like they do Twinkles.” Mattie looked over at Mark. “Right?”
“Maybe so,” Mark said with a nod.
“See there, all that worry was for nothing.” Grandpa smiled. “Hey, how about letting me try blowing some of those bubbles?”
Mark handed Grandpa the bottle of liquid, and Grandpa blew a large bubble. “See that?” he said, as the bubble floated above their heads.
“Jah,” Mark and Mattie both said.
“Well, my daed used to have an old saying about worry and bubbles.”
“What was that, Grandpa?” Mark asked.
“When someone in my family started to fret about something, Dad always said that worries were like bubbles—they’ll soon blow away.”
Mark rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought about what Grandpa had said. He’d never thought about worry being compared to a bubble before. He was about to ask Grandpa if he thought that was really true when he caught sight of his two cats leaping through the tall grass. As they neared the barn, they raced through the open door.
“They’re safe!” Mark and Mattie hollered at the same time.
Mark sighed with relief.
C HAPTER 7
Secret Gifts
For the next several weeks, Mattie set her worries aside. With the holidays in full swing, her spirits were lifted. The air seemed like it was charged with excitement, and she could hardly stop smiling. Thanksgiving had been a wonderful time with her family around the table, sharing a tasty meal. Mattie’s favorite part had been the turkey and moist stuffing, but the pumpkin and apple pies were delicious, too. Now she looked forward to Christmas, which was just three weeks away. Every free moment, Mattie spent working on Christmas presents for everyone in the family, like she was doing today. Since it was Saturday and all of her chores were finished, she’d gone upstairs to her room to work on some of the gifts still needing to be done.
Mattie didn’t have much money saved up, so she’d decided to make all the gifts she’d be giving to others this year. It was actually fun to create some neat things, and she hoped everyone would like the secret gifts she had made. So far, she’d created felt pouches for both Grandpa and Grandma Miller to keep their glasses in. For Grandpa Troyer she’d taken an old ring-binder notebook, decorated it with fabric squares cut into a patchwork pattern and then glued to the binder. When Grandpa Troyer’s arthritis wasn’t acting up, he liked to work in the garden, so Mattie had added a gift tag that read: G RANDPA’S G ARDENING N OTES . She’d also made a three-ring binder for Grandma Troyer and decorated it with light blue material, pieces of lace, and some strips of white ribbon. On Grandma’s note tag Mattie had written the words: G RANDMA’S R ECIPES . Since Grandma liked to cook a lot, Mattie thought she would enjoy having her own recipe book.
Using a piece of pink-colored felt, Mattie had made a special little case where Mom could keep her needles and pins. She’d decorated it with a red heart on the outside and a matching piece of red felt on the inside to stick the needles in. Mattie’s gift for Dad was a small tin she’d gotten from Mom that used to have tea in it. Mattie had painted it and added the words: D AD’S K EYS . Since Dad often lost his keys, she thought this would be a good gift for him.
Recently, Mattie had finished three bait containers that could be used for fishing. She’d made them from empty coffee cans she had secretly hidden in her closet. She thought Calvin, Russell, and Ike would like how she’d painted the cans, using a different color, with their names on each one.
Using sheets of craft foam,
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