And so happy Christmas,

I hope you have fun,

The near and the dear ones,

The old and the young.   

                      - John Lennon

In this last post of 2011, I just want to wish everyone an absolutely beautiful holiday season and a Merry Christmas. While this is such a busy time of year for most of us, it is also such a wonderful time. So many people are doing kind and generous things for others ... you can just feel the energy of goodwill swilling about us like snowflakes. If only we could remember to spread that goodwill all year round.

Every holiday season I donate a certain percentage of my earnings from sales of my handmade wares to a different charity, organization or individual in need. I like to find the little known causes that may not be getting lots of attention. This year I've chosen Amber's Angels and I just wanted to share her story.

Amberlyn Fett was a young woman of 22 who passed away last month after a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis. But before she died she established Amber's Angels, an organization which delivers Christmas gifts to children in hospitals. The article below describes it best, copied from the Dripping Springs Babble. If you haven't yet found a charity that truly speaks to you this holiday season, please consider Amber's Angels and join me to insure that her dream lives on. I'm sure that even $20 is so very helpful when buying Christmas gifts for sick children.

Although I didn't know Amberlyn ... and how I wish I'd had the honor of meeting her ... she was a local girl who lived just down the road from me in the little town of Dripping Springs. I believe that sometimes people find ways to reach us and touch our hearts after they've passed. We're listening, Amberlyn, and we hear your generous and pure heart beat on.

IN MEMORY OF AMBERLYN FETT Dripping Springs recently lost an angel when Amberlyn Michelle Fett passed away at the age of 22 on November 18, 2011 due to complications from a double lung transplant and cystic fibrosis. Many of you knew of Amberlyn thanks to the non-profit charity she founded, Amber's Angels. Her lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis meant most Christmases spent in the hospital. During one Christmas, she noticed that many of the children in the the pediatric units did not have family with them or any gifts to open. She was particularly concerned with a 5-year old girl who never had any visitors and did not receive any presents during the holiday season. From her hospital bed that Christmas, Amberlyn was inspired to form Amber's Angels, a charitable group created to deliver gift bags to the patients of Dell Children's Hospital. Last Christmas (2010), was the very first time that Amberlyn herself was able to attend the passing out of gift bags to the children at the hospital. While her time on earth was so short and filled with struggles few of us can comprehend, she never lost her spirit, and what she did to help others in her too-brief lifetime should be an inspiration to all of us. For those who want to help keep Amberlyn's spirit alive to bring a brighter Christmas for many hospital-bound children, memorial contributions may be made to Amber's Angels, a 501(c)(3) organization), at ambers-angels.org. Contributions can also be made to the bereavement fund for her family via Fett Family Fund c/o Cattleman's National Bank, Account #3136760, PO Box 1243, Dripping Springs, TX 78620.