Now that we are full-force into the holiday season, A - like most children - has a serious case of the wants. If I tallied up all the toys and games that he has said that he wants, the number would probably shock me. I have to watch the mail and newspaper carefully so that he doesn't seize any more toy ads and add to his list!
One of the lessons that we want to teach him as he grows is that not everyone is as fortunate as we are, and that we should share some of our good fortune. I decided that this year we would participate in Operation Christmas Child, which sends gift-filled shoe boxes to children throughout the world. While I am not wild about the second part of their activities, the evangelizing, at least they are doing something tangible for these children.
We decided to pack a box for a boy in the same age range as A. We went to our local Walgreens on Sunday afternoon and had a great time choosing items for our box: crayons, colored pencils, drawing pad, stuffed animal, Hot Wheels, flashlight, mini Etch-a-Sketch, a ball, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, hard candy...and a few other items that I certainly forgot. All three of us enjoyed shopping and I liked seeing A pick up an item and say "I think he would like this." Of course, we had to occasionally pry an extra toy out of A's hands, but all in all, he got into the spirit of giving to someone else.
The real challenge came when we got home and tried to fit everything into the box! J did a great time of arranging and rearranging, and managed to get everything except one small ball into the box. A and I will drop off the box next week at one of the collection locations - I want for A to have the experience of carrying the box in and seeing it with the other boxes.
Compassion and generosity are not easy lessons to teach, but we are trying.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Boo!
The 31st was quite a busy day at our house. A and I had the school field trip during the day and the time after school also proved to be action-packed. A insisted that we carve the tiny pumpkin that he picked out at the farm; while it was easy to remove the small amount of seeds and pumpkin goo, it was tough to carve something that small. Somehow I managed to cut out two eyes and a toothy grin without severing any fingers, but we soon learned that we had to tilt the lid in order to give the candle enough air to stay lit.
A masterpiece, it is not.
We put on A's costume and headed over to our local Publix grocery store, which had treats for the children. A received quite a lot of candy from three different stations within the store and delighted several shoppers with his super hero poses.
Then we went over to the Tae Kwan Do school, which was having a Halloween party for each class. It was quite funny to see Mr. Gable and Master Shim wearing costumes! J had been sent home from work early, so he came directly to the school, which was a nice surprise. Mr. Gable and Master Shim played games with the costumed students (yay - burn off that sugar!) and then handed each child a goodie bag. We were already loaded with candy at this point, and trick or treating in the neighborhood was yet to come.
After a quick dinner, we headed out for trick or treating in the neighborhood. It was still light out, but we could not wait for dark and keep A on any kind of an evening schedule. We had a good time going to the various houses out on the main road in our subdivision and it was completely dark by the time we finished. We had no trick or treaters on our cul-de-sac, down from last year's high number of one.
We let A survey his haul (quite large) and eat a piece or two of candy before getting his bath, brushing his teeth VERY WELL and going to bed. He was exhausted from his busy day and crawled into bed only 15 minutes later than usual. All in all, it was a good day for Captain Heartbreaker and his entourage.
A masterpiece, it is not.
We put on A's costume and headed over to our local Publix grocery store, which had treats for the children. A received quite a lot of candy from three different stations within the store and delighted several shoppers with his super hero poses.
Then we went over to the Tae Kwan Do school, which was having a Halloween party for each class. It was quite funny to see Mr. Gable and Master Shim wearing costumes! J had been sent home from work early, so he came directly to the school, which was a nice surprise. Mr. Gable and Master Shim played games with the costumed students (yay - burn off that sugar!) and then handed each child a goodie bag. We were already loaded with candy at this point, and trick or treating in the neighborhood was yet to come.
After a quick dinner, we headed out for trick or treating in the neighborhood. It was still light out, but we could not wait for dark and keep A on any kind of an evening schedule. We had a good time going to the various houses out on the main road in our subdivision and it was completely dark by the time we finished. We had no trick or treaters on our cul-de-sac, down from last year's high number of one.We let A survey his haul (quite large) and eat a piece or two of candy before getting his bath, brushing his teeth VERY WELL and going to bed. He was exhausted from his busy day and crawled into bed only 15 minutes later than usual. All in all, it was a good day for Captain Heartbreaker and his entourage.
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