simply grateful

This month, we are trying to read a bible verse and do a craft everyday to learn about Christmas. Yesterday's lesson was about how the angel Gabriel told Mary she was going to have a baby and name Him Jesus. "But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.'" Luke 1:30-32a Just in case you can't tell, Makayla painted Mary and Elijah painted Gabriel. A good friend encouraged me to just let the kids paint how they wanted to paint...the controlling inner school teacher struggled with this just a wee bit...until I saw how proud they were. I have a lot to learn about preschoolers! There are some wonderful websites for this. I wish my ideas were original. Not so much. Pretty much every good idea I have is stolen...er, I mean, borrowed. Here are some sites I visit regularly for ideas...

One of our favorite holiday traditions is packing a shoebox full of goodies for a needy kid around the world. We do this through Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. This is a terrific organization who meets spiritual as well as physical needs. Every child who receives a box will be taught about Jesus. I was just looking on their website and they are still taking donations if that is something you are interested in doing . It was even more fun this year because Makayla is old enough to kind of get the idea that the box is going to another child far away who may not even have toys. She gave a teddy bear a bit of love before putting it in her box. Elijah enjoyed packing his box too...although the lid did not quite want to go on. I know the economy is not good. It seems like all ministries are hurting financially. But we are still so blessed and if one kid could come to know Christ because of a simple shoebox, it is all worth it. If you are interested in knowing more...