Merry Christmas

We had a pretty good year this year. It was not perfect, but we did our best to give the kids a good day and instill them with values I hope they will retain for life.

Through some financial aid juggling, we had more money than normal this year. We were able to get the kids several larger gifts that we have never been able to afford before. We were also able to give a lot more to others this holiday season, and that is what I am happiest about.

We were able to buy gifts for our closest friends children, and spend a wonderful evening with them. We also tried really hard to teach the kids about charity. Landon's 1st grade class ran a food drive at his school. He was mostly concerned at first with the rewards he got for bringing in the food items, but as time wore on he started to understand the reason for it. When the class took a short field trip to deliver the items, he actually asked a question as to whether or not the place took food for dogs that didn't have any. When he told us this, we told him that we would make sure and help some dogs in need. We took the kids to Petco, and they picked out a few dog and cat toys, and we bought a couple of bags of high quality food and took them to the shelter we got Emma from. They were extremely grateful.

One more thing we did to teach them about giving was the giving tree at the local mall. We had the kids pick out a child as close to their age as possible( to aid in gift choices), and Jenny and I picked a teen. We then had them pick out toys and/or clothing for their child and deliver them to the mall service desk. (the lady there was very rude, and I thought if she was more receptive the kids would have gotten the message better, but that is out of my control). Landon seemed to have the most fun picking out items for an 8 year old girl. Elizabeth I don't think quite understood, but hopefully something sticks with her.

We had the kids pick out gifts for each other, and they helped (with a little coaching) pick out a gift for their older sister, and little cousin. They enjoyed this part very much.

Overall I think we did make some impression on Landon at least. His Christmas wish he did at school said "I wish everybody will have dinner at their house" It might seem simple, but he was worried about those that did not have food for their families.

I think that is a success.