Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Tis the season...

I've been avoiding the "Christmas" shopping push...

I've been avoiding it because I just can't "seem" to get into the "spirit" of the season...

I haven't even put up the tree this year...

But, in my defense, I "did" manage to put lights up outside the house!

I think it's because, as my kiddos have gotten older, the "requests" have just become MORE expensive! Thus, the reason (to some degree) for my "FUNK" with getting into the "Holiday Spirit".

That, and the fact that the commercial advertising seems to have drifted away from the "true" meaning of the SEASON!

I've noticed that more and more, children just don't even KNOW we celebrate the birth of Jesus! They don't know that Jesus received only 3(three) gifts upon his birth! It's really saddened me, especially this year, to see that it's all about "how much" they received, not "How Much" they have put into giving, not just at this time, but, all year long!

Last year, my son had developed a "questionable" opinion as to "EXACTLY" what Christmas meant to him. He figured that the season was just a time to spend money for things that you normally wouldn't buy. And sadly, he's probably correct with that thought.

I decided that I wanted them to understand and more importantly to experience the "JOY" of doing something for someone else, something unexpected!

So, one Friday afternoon I cleared the carport and dragged out all, and I do mean ALL, of the storage containers of Christmas decorations.

Next, I dragged out those two kids of mine! Set about first, collecting all the "ornaments" that meant something to us. Those went to the side, along with things of importance. Then we seperated all the different artifical trees, each in it's OWN little area. This continued for several days.

At last, we had completed the task and had divided things evenly. I moved all the decorations we decided to keep into the house.

The other 4 sets...well...we decided that we wanted to give them to families in need of them...so...

I contacted the Local Sheriff's office. They put me into contact with the Local Shelter for Women and Children of Domestic Violence. Once I explainedwhat we had and how I wanted my children to learn from this...they were happy to make the necessary arrangements with 4 different families.

To be continued....