Operation Christmas Child--Month 2

A couple of Wednesdays ago I dashed into the Goodwill store on my way to growth group. I usually drop the older 3 kids off at AWANA, then meet Ted at the B's house for group, which starts at 6:30. Since AWANA starts at 6:00, I usually have 15-20 minutes to do quick errands. My purpose this particular Wednesday was to try to find some pants for Arden, who stubbornly refuses to stop growing.

No luck with pants, but on the way out, I found a display of brand new little trinkets for 29 cents each. Thanks to our family resolution to think "Operation Christmas Child" throughout the whole year, I immediately thought--those would make great shoebox stuffers! Woohoo! I got all this stuff for just over $6. Thank you, Lord!

Planning Ahead for OCC

We've been a bit stir crazy of late. The kiddos caught the nasty cold Ted brought home last week. (I've so far stayed healthy, which is a first...I credit my chiropractic treatments for helping my immune system, because I'm not doing anything else differently!) So today I decided we needed to get out of the house. P.E. was not an option, however, as I didn't want to send the boys into fits of coughing from all the running around; plus it didn't seem like a good idea to get Kenna's runny nose within 10 feet of any people outside our family.

So we went to the Dollar Tree. Now, I'm not one to bundle up 5 kiddos and run amok through town just for kicks, and those who know me understand I really don't like shopping for fun, either. But our trip to the dollar store had a purpose. One of our family goals for this year was to plan ahead and pack 20 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We took an idea from The Sharing Org and decided that a little bit of planning can go a long way toward being able to give more at Christmastime. Our goal is to shop once a month for items to go in the shoe boxes. We've already set aside some money to help with the shipping charges for the boxes as well and have added a little extra to our Christmas budget. This is a worthy cause--how easy is it to touch a life and have the opportunity to share Christ's love with kids who need to know they matter to God?

This is our first batch of loot. It was also my first time in this Dollar Tree--wow, that store is huge! And remarkably busy for a Thursday afternoon! I had told the kids ahead of time that they would be able to choose one item for themselves. I have to be honest, we just don't typically buy things for our kids. I guess one reason is that we really aren't much for shopping, LOL, but also we have just never gotten in the habit of buying "a little something" for them. I'm not about to change that, by any means! The kids know if they want something, they need to save their allowance and any money gifts they receive so they can purchase it themselves. But it was so fun to announce a treat ahead of time and watch their faces as they walked up and down the aisles, trying to choose carefully what they would spend their dollar on.

I was proud of them--they were very well behaved, had remarkable self-control, and made good choices regarding their selections. They didn't just grab the first thing they saw (which is good, since we came to the candy aisle first, yikes) but waited until they had looked through aisles of interest. Tobin chose a Disney heroes coloring and activity book. He's back on a coloring kick these days. Arden chose a package of two nerf balls, perfect for our sports boy. Charis chose pretty paper for the computer so she can print out stories. And Kenna, after loading up with about five different objects, finally settled on a package of bubbles, which works for me because she has actually asked several times this month if she can have bubbles. I let her blow them at home with Lucan crawling around trying to figure out what was happening to the things he was trying to grab!

So, mission accomplished. We got out of the house, shopped for other boys and girls, and found inexpensive treats for the kids. They are already making plans for our next trip to the Dollar Tree...