Addison Witulski is only 9 years old. Her 7-year-old brother, Kaden Witulski, was born with a heart condition, and now he ______ surgery (外科手术). Addison overheard her grandma, Kim Allred, discussing the ______ matters with her husband, JC Allred. Allred appeared to be ______ not being able to afford traveling to Houston, where Kaden’s surgery is set to take place, on top of paying bills, ______ she suggested hosting a bake sale.

Overhearing what they said, Addison decided to ______ money by herself. She went ahead with a lemonade stand. When Addison started ______ the lemonade stand last Saturday, Allred thought she was just doing it for ______. But when the little girl ______ $54 at the end of the day, it made Kim Allred feel ______. Seeing a 9-year-old want to ______ her brother like that is unbelievable!

Addison’s best friend, Erika Borden, wanted to ______ too, so they had another lemonade stand the next day. Here, Addison decided to sell her drawings of butterflies, trees and birds for $l, as well as a cup of lemonade for 25 cents.

“Halfway through the day, she came running into the house saying her butterfly pictures were selling ______ and she had to make more,” Alled said. “It was lovable how ______ she was taking it.”

Erika’s mom, Mace Petty, promoted the lemonade stand on Facebook and within minutes, cars were lining up to have a drink to show their ______. “I wanted people to know this wasn’t just an ordinary lemonade stand; these kids had a ______.” Petty said. “Seeing the kids take part in such a real-life situation can give the rest of the world great hope for humanity.”

When you get a less than desirable gift, people like to say, "It's the thought that counts." But with my mother's gifts, you've really got to wonder, What______was that, exactly?

Still, my mother's presents are never given with malice (恶意)or mischief; they are always presented with wide -eyed,______ excitement. “Do you like it?" she always asks with ______. Over the years, her Christmas presents have generated amusement, confusion, and sometimes even ______.

Several years ago, my mother spent days ______ handmade clay sculptures for my brother, my sister, and me: lovingly crafted, strange interpretations of our heads. "Keep it on your ______ counter. ”

I took the head home and placed it in my bathroom as instructed. I soon discovered that few things ______ a two-year-old child more than a small, odd version of his mother's clay head ______ him while he poops.

My son used the downstairs bathroom more and more instead, and he even ______ to take a bath if the head was in the room. We both ______ its presence until one day, as I was doing dishes, I heard a series of bumps, followed by a large crash. I walked over to the stairs, and there, at the bottom, was the ______, broken into a dozen pieces, At the top of the stairs stood my son, triumphant(洋洋得意的).

Still, the clueless, endless, and enthusiastic love shown in my mother's ______ presents is the same love with which she raised me and my brothers and sisters. She has always loved us for our boring, reserved personalities ______, and we-- with all our eye rolls and sighs around the Christmas tree -- love her unconditionally as well. Maybe there is no ______ gift to give children than the knowledge that they can be weird or awkward and still feel ______ just the way they are.

When December comes, I am busy with what some may consider an old—fashioned practice. I buy New Year’s greeting cards for my loved ones and send them through _________mail.

In the age of social media(社交媒体), I_________getting a card through postal services is a much_______ way of sending wishes than a cold e—card.

When I send these cards, the one person most on my_________is my little six—year—old grandniece who lives many miles away. This card not only brings_________to my heart, but there is far more to it. It is my way of_______her about a beautiful past practice, a time when people took the_________ and trouble to choose cards, _________a few lines, and send them on.

I’ ve___________for her a card with a teddy bear. A big red heart in the corner has the words: For the one I     __________ . With little white hearts all over the front and back of the red envelope, it’s the__________card for a little girl.

I’ll pen a short__________ inside the card, asking her about her life, her school and her friends. I’ll__________a stamp, and the card will be on its way.

Part of my__________in sending cards to the little one is the joy I__________she feels. First, a card__________ for her, lying in the letter box. Then, I can imagine how eagerly(急切地)she’ll pick it up and her happiness at__________the card and reading the lines I have penned for her.

Perhaps this little girl will____________the card for a long, long time, until she__________a grandmother, too. She’d tell her grandchildren about those good old days when people actually wrote with something called a pen, and actually__________a card to someone living perhaps on the other side of the world.