Yesterday I knocked out addressing all of the Christmas Cards. We will get a letter together this weekend to include in some. For the first time ever, I ordered a photo card from Snapfish to mail out. I am extremely pleased with how it turned out! I used 4 equal size pictures from our beach vacation this past summer and turned them all black and white. We have only ever sent a picture maybe once or twice? So this is a new thing for us and I think it will be the new tradition!
Speaking of letters. Asher wrote a letter to Santa at school. Let me set it up: I email with his teacher throughout the week, and she had mentioned that when I came to pick him up on Wednesday for his dentist appointment, I needed to make sure to see it hanging in the hallway. More background - his teacher is doing something different this year with the class; instead of a gift exchange the kids are doing Acts of Kindness. This could include helping a neighbor, bringing food items in to the Giving Tree at school for the local food pantry, donating clothing, etc. We took in some pantry items but I'm also planning on taking Ash to WalMart and having him pick out some snack items for the Backpack Program the school does, for kids who need snack items after school/weekends. So, I email with his teacher saying I think this is a great idea and so on, and when she replied this was at the end of the email: "...I just really want my kids (students) to know how it feels to help others and be caring and thoughtful young people. It is very important to me that kids learn to think about others. I know that this important to your family as well, and that's why I think Asher's Santa letter will show you that you are setting a great example." I was so curious at this point, as Ash hadn't even mentioned writing to Santa! So on the Wednesday, Allie and I arrive around 10:30a to check Ash out of school so we could drive about an hour to the pediatric dentist for their cleanings and checkups. I took a pic of his letter with my phone. I was shocked to see what he had written!
Translation: "I don't need anything for Christmas." I looked at his teacher, and at him, and she shrugged and said she had asked him, well what about legos? You like legos! And he replied with something like, I do like legos, and I want them, but I don't NEED them. Now he has asked for some things for Christmas, and actually we texted with Santa (thank you AT&T Wireless) and he texted back. Ash thought that was really cool. Someone even asked him if he was going to visit Santa and tell him what he wants for Christmas, and Asher said, "No, I don't need to do that. I already texted him." Hahaha! My kids like Santa, but not a real live, up close and in your face, sit on his lap Santa. Never have, probably never will.
One of the things he has asked for is a remote control car. He reallllly wants one of those and yes, Santa will come through. Allie is asking for a dollhouse and Dora the Explorer and earrings. Yes, earrings. That is courtesy of my mother-in-law planting that seed while here for Thanksgiving. Their conversation went something like this:
Mimi: Allie, you need to tell Dr Casey or Dr Mike {the pediatricians here} that you want holes in your ears. Then you can have earrings like Mimi! Would you like that?
Allie: Yes Mimi! My want holes in my ears!
Mimi: What kind of earrings do you want? Diamonds like Mimi?
Allie: No, my want blue earrings. BLUE!!!
This is what Allie has talked about since Thanksgiving. She mentions it every couple of days. At the dentist on Wednesday, the hygienist was cleaning Asher's teeth and was asking Allie what did she want for Christmas, was Santa coming, all that good stuff. Here's that convo:
Allie: My want holes in my ears. My want earrings!
Hygienist: Earrings? Wow! What kind of earrings?
Allie: DIAMONDS!!! They're my favorites.
Oh my goodness gracious.
OK, back to Ash and his philanthropy. LOL. He gets off the bus on Thursday afternoon and immediately asks me, literally before the car door is even closed, if he can have some money...
Asher: Mom! Can I have some money? Please?!
Me: Money? What do you need money for?
Asher: The poor! See look! {and shows me a pocket in his backpack full of change} I'm putting all the money I find in here and when it is full I am giving it to the poor! Two, no three, kids on the bus said they will give me money to help me help the poor. So and so {name excluded} said he would give me $2 if I would be his friend.
Me: OK, buddy, slow down. Collecting money is a great idea. But we don't take money from people or give money to people in exchange for friendship blah blah blah we have discussed this you can be his friend unconditionally if you want. Now where did you get this idea and who exactly are you giving it to?
Asher: I just want to help the poor and needy so they can live longer! I thought I could give the money to daddy and he can take it to work and give it to the people he takes care of if they need it so they can live long and healthy. But I need more money!
Me: You are very thoughtful bud. We'll talk about it more with Dad, OK? Maybe you can earn some extra money by doing some extra things around the house.
This kid is something else. Just when I think, he has too much stuff, too many toys too many clothes too many whatever, he comes up with something that knocks my socks off and makes me think, we are doing SOMETHING right. I was telling his teacher, some of the most important traits I want my children to have are a loving and giving spirit and thoughtfulness to others. I try to talk about this, but most importantly SHOW this to them. John suggested we let him put the money in the Salvation Army red bucket, especially since he wants coins. He has a chore chart we have had for quite awhile. We haven't been using it for months up until a week or so ago. He had asked to have it set back up. It is all magnets so that you can switch out the chores each week, and then you put the smiley faces when completed, there are all 7 days on there. We picked out things like, "Brush Your Teeth", "Keep Hands to Yourself", "Take Care of Pet". He has been diligent about checking the chart and putting the smiley faces on when he completes the task. This morning he told me that once he was done with today, all week would be done and he could get that extra money for the poor!
John and I have recently gotten back in touch with a family we have known for years through our old church in Hot Springs, they are missionaries in Mexico. We found one of the daughters through Facebook! I love Facebook. Anyway, we've been emailing with her getting all caught up on her life and the parents lives and her sister. They still head up a large church that is going strong, and we were sad to hear the Medical Clinic we helped build is no longer in service. But the Children's Home {orphanage} is still going, there are 12 children there now. The couple that runs it are getting older and they haven't been able to take in any more children, and the kids there now are mostly teens. I have very fond memories of the Children's Home. I went on two mission trips to Mexico through our church back around 1990/91. It was an AMAZING experience. John has been on like 8 mission trips there, maybe more. This family and their mission are very close and dear to our hearts and we had tried to stay in touch through the years but had lost contact. So we are thrilled to get back into touch and hear all that's going on, and we are already planning a visit hopefully sometime next year. How awesome would that be?? Lots of prayer!
Better finish up. John is still coughing up a lung and says he feels worse again today! Poor guy. Not sure why we can't shake this mess. Allie is also still congested in her chest and coughing. Asher is fine thank goodness. I too still have a touch of a cough and congestion but have gotten tons better throughout the week. I was able to get back into my YMCA and playdate schedule. :) Sounds like any plans we had made this weekend are out the window again and we will be hanging out trying to recuperate more. I am thankful John isn't on call this weekend or next. However he is on call the two holiday weekends following, back to back. We've got to get better!! I hope this posts correctly! I am having some HTML issues apparently. Hmm...
