A Christmas Story

This is one of those stories, the kind that you hear around Christmas, the kind that makes you cry and feel guilty for spending your time posting about the ridges in your fingernails. This is the kind that makes you want to sell your car, because you'll somehow get by, and give the money away to help these girls and their family.

These adorable girls are the nieces of my dear friend Amberly.

Natalie and Alice have an extremely rare disease and are going in for chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants next week. One of their brothers is even one of the donors! None of their family will be able to leave their home for the next year, meaning the dad will not be able to go to work for the next year. You can READ MORE about their story here. Do it. It's overwhelming and amazing and beautiful. (There are also instructions on that site for how to donate via PayPal.)

Their story is amazing. I normally don't love passing these things on because they tend to seem somewhat sensationalized. But this one is the real deal. And, probably a bit selfishly, it means more to me because it's about people I know; I've been hearing about these girls and their hospital visits ever since they were born. Theirs is the kind of story that really puts things into perspective, especially when I think about how the last time Anna went to the doctor for being sick was two years ago.

I love that this is a story about faith and hope and family and selfless giving. A perfect Christmas story. And this won't just help them out for Christmas, it will help them for the next year. So if you're looking for a way to give this Christmas or at any other time or for any other reason, here's a great one.

Click here to read more about Natalie and Alice and to donate.