Little Givers...

Before all of the Christmas pictures arrive, I wanted to post the sweet pictures of the kids doing their Christmas service. We had some great opportunities this year to get the kids involved with giving....and I wanted to brainwash them into remembering what is important:)

Think what you must, I have heard different sides to my "madness", but at our house I don't talk much about Santa. We don't make Christmas lists, leave out cookies or talk about flying reindeer. I have a couple santa decorations and I have never told the kids otherwise BUT I don't focus on the jolly man one bit. As a result my kids still do LOVE Christmas, and I feel that it will be a love that will last even after they learn the truth about Santa.

Maddie asked me last week "Mom, how about you just tell me the truth about the Easter Bunny, Santa and Leprecuans. I know it's you". She was so casual and was trying to trick me into revealing some big secret on our what to school. She knows the answer will be the same. I always tell her there is fun in mystery, and everyone believes what they want to believe. I also told her if she hasn't seen me then she can't prove it:) She has seen the easter bunny with his crappy costume, and knows he isn't real, but that doesn't seem to change how much fun she has.

This year we started off with the Bishops gift house. I took the kids to Ross and they each picked a gift they would want to give to a little child. This can be difficult for a 4 and 6 year old because they see things that they really wanted, but I directed their focus to a child who had nothing. They were so good about it, and willingly left the toy on the donation table. They got to sit on Santas lap and have cocoa after with the other neighbor kids as well.
The next week the YW in the ward were asking for food donations for the kids at the Christmas box house while they were waiting to be placed in foster homes. Our foster daughter really hated it there so we thought that maybe something simple like cookies, juices and fruit snacks might cheer up a little kid for a bit. So they took one of those adorable mini carts at Smiths and found some good treats for the kids. They had fun doing it and I did buy them a little treat when we were done:)

Later that week the food bank was asking for food donations so I sent them down to our food storage with a couple bags and they loaded up some food. I usually do it myself and just put it on the door step, but I really want them to understand, especially when they complain about things, that there are people who really have nothing. Cheyenne saw them and tried to help out too:)
We have a crazy weekend with all of the cousins in town, so after dinner we went to the rehab my mom works at to sing carols. First we watched Mr. Kruegers Christmas--so sad to see the lonely old man---and then we went to give the residents a cupcake and sing a couple songs in each room. They were so adorable, and sang their hearts out. I worried that they would be shy. Chey didn't know the songs but she twirled around in circles and danced for them. Anything a 2 year old does is cute:)
I took each of the kids shopping by themselves to by gifts for each other. The tricky part was getting them alone, when Rob is never home these days, but it worked eventually:) I took them to Joanns crafts, mainly because they both love everything there and I could use a 50% off coupon for whatever they chose:) AJ found a lot of things that he would want and 20 minutes later he found something that Maddie and Cheyenne would want:) Maddie knew jsut what to get him since he loved so many things there. I helped Cheyenne pick her gifts since the kids really wanted those singing animals that poop bubble gum:) It is seriously the only thing they asked for Christmas, so I wanted to make sure I got their pig and cow:)

I pulled each of them aside into my room to wrap.

Aj even designed his own wrapping paper for his sisters:)

I think Maddie liked the secretive part of it all:)

Cheyenne thought the candy dispensers were the best--the problem was keeping them from oinking and mooing while we were in there:) She really got into it and picked the gift bag for each of them and shoved in the tissue paper she wanted. She "helped" with the ribbon as well, and I still haven't gotten that untangled:)

All in all I think they have been such good sports they deserve to get gifts for themselves come Christmas:) Which I wrapped the other night on the living room floor and my butt is still sore from that little event:) Pregnant and out of shape, and it took me a few hours...