24 Days of Giving: Days 9-13

Day 9 & 10. For day 9 we mailed a card and Wal-Mart gift card to a widow, a very special widow! For day 10 we mailed a card and gas gift card to a single mom, a very sweet single mom. We hope they both feel the love this Christmas and are reminded of God’s amazing love for them. And look at what my children left on my computer for me… “You’ve been racked” (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness) and a pan of toy cookies. So sweet!

Day 11: For today, we donated to Women at Risk International to fight human trafficking. We often don’t think about it here in America but all around the world women and children are sold, used, and abused. The stories are horrific. As much as I wish it didn’t exist, I can’t pretend that it doesn’t. These precious lives need our prayer and our resources at the least. There are many areas you can choose to donate to within WAR int’l and we chose P4WB...
“Pray for WAR Babies (P4WB) is the heart-torn war cry from WAR, Int’l in response to an unimaginable horror: baby trafficking. Around the world, the faces of trafficking are children, beginning in the cradle with babies sold for as little as $25. WAR, Int’l is passionate about being a mother to the motherless and protecting babies from those who would harm them. When you join us, you spare these little ones from a life of horror. They can be tucked into cradles of safety and hear the stories of Jesus sung to them. They can grow up to be the beautiful, loving human beings God intended them to be. While P4WB is a part of our Emergency 911 fund, all money donated to P4WB goes towards prevention, rescue, and healing programs intended specifically for children. By collecting coins to fill a baby bottle, you and your children help rescue children around the world.”http://warinternational.org/get-involved/

Day 12 & 13: We’ve done several fun things this weekend! First we snuck over to a friends house and put a yard sign in her yard (I think we picked someone that wouldn’t mind and would actually like it). Then we spent 3 hours making 70 homemade egg rolls. Whew, what a chore! Everyone helped so it went quick… ahem maybe not! We took some of these and some other snacks to a Mom that just had a new baby! We also divided up our stack of Christmas cards and prayed for each person we had a card for, so precious to hear my children pray for friends and family. We also stopped at a laundr-o-mat and left some quarters in some slots of washing machines along with notes! One more stop last night to Wal-Mart and we were able to talk with a cashier and leave her with a little book I had in my purse, Caden was brave for handing it to her and speaking up to tell her Merry Christmas. (If you’re wondering why my sweet little girl is in a boy’s sweater vest… I told everyone to dress a little warm for the parade we were going to. Biggest brother Alex wanted to help Emily get dressed and decided that all 4 of them should match by wearing sweater vests. They were so excited and happy about it, I just let her wear it. Didn’t want to squish their excitement and how they bonded over that). Merry Christmas!

Also just thought I’d share a family thing we did… Thanks to Todd Wilson (The FamilyMan), our family had a special evening the other night! We played his board game “To Bethlehem” where you have to find your way to baby Jesus. Along the way there are family discussion cards (like, what is your favorite Christmas tree ornament and why, what’s the best gift you’ve ever received, sing your favorite Christmas carol, and more!) One of our favorite things on the board was putting a towel on your head to be a shepherd! Here is a picture of Dada with a kitchen towel on his head! Afterwards, thanks to the Familyman Ministry idea in the “You ‘Da Dad” 2014 calendar, Dada camped out under the Christmas tree with the kids. Oh, the excitement! They had so much fun! Both the “To Bethlehem” game and the 2015 calendar are for sale on their website! http://store.familymanweb.com/products-p…/featured-products/

Some other recent pictures of our fam…