Our first tradition to kick off the Christmas season every year is to put together boxes for Operation Christmas Child. This year, we let the boys pick out everything that would go in their boxes for a boy that was near the same age as them. I loved hearing Kade refer to the recipient of his box as, "my friend in another country." I still don't think that the boys could comprehend that there are children who only get what's in the box for their Christmas present. I can understand why though...I mean, their world right now consists of only what they can see around them and from their viewpoint, "stuff" abounds and no one is lacking. This is a question that is always on my mind - what actions can I take now to keep my children from being so attached to "stuff?" It's funny how your perspective can change so fast...I was a happy teenager growing up in a one bedroom apt with my mom. We drove a car that was given to us, didn't have air conditioning in that car for a while (in Texas heat, mind you :), wore hand me down clothes most of the time, and were the beneficiaries of our church family often - yet, I still only remember those times with a smile on my face and thankfulness in my heart to the Lord for taking care of our needs. Yet, now, 13 years later, I can't imagine living like that again. I expect more. I want my air conditioning to work when I get in the car in the summer. I like living in a house so that my kids can have a backyard and ride their bikes. I like to have new clothes. I feel like my needs/wants are all blurry now. I pray that the Lord will help me keep an eternal perspective and not a temporary focus. Enough with the rambling...here are some pics of the Operation Christmas Child tradition from this year...
We have also started Advent with our family. We lit the first candle last night. Kamden caught us off guard when we first sat down and got ready for Keith to read to us from the Bible. He said, "Are there scarecrows in it, daddy?"....what? Where in the world did he pull that question from? I don't know, but it sure made us laugh. And then, after we lit the candle, Keith said, "Let's pray." and Kale immediately began belting out, "Thank you, Fauder (Father), thank you Fauder, for our food, for our food, and our many blessings, and our many blessings, a-amen, a-amen." If only we were about to eat, Kale :)
1 comment:
I know you probably do something along these lines, but we have a 1 in 1 out rule for the kids. They have to donate a gift for each gift they receive. We explain that they will be going to a child who might not have gotten anything for Christmas. Sometimes, we even do it before Christmas - obviously it is not 1 for 1 then, but we give them a number of toys to select from their stash and they choose which toys to remove and donate. It helps them understand that we should give because we get so much from others.
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