Getting in the Christmas Spirit

'Tis the Season

We decorated for Christmas last Monday for FHE. We had a great time. Connor is at such a fun age where he loves everything holiday. His pictures usually reflect this. He's been drawing lots of pictures of the nativity, a book about "the baby" meaning baby Jesus, and Christmas trees. We set up our new pre-lit artificial tree. Connor wanted to make it look just like the picture on the box complete with presents. We didn't (and still don't) have any wrapped presents to put under the tree so Connor improvised. He was cute "wrapping" up presents and bringing them to me to open. He would find various tins and decorative Christmas boxes and put found items in them (ex: his piggy bank coins in a box with sequins on it in the shape of a tree, his stuffed animals inside clear bags (hmmm, wonder what that is)). I'm glad he's in the giving spirit rather than the "I want" mentality (I think we can credit that to not having tv- we only watch movies or tv shows we like on DVD that we buy or check out from the library).

At the end of the week, we went to our ward Christmas party. I arrived early to help my YW set up the Santa room then rushed home to get the ham and homemade rolls we signed up to bring. Once there, we could finally relax after a crazy long day- this was the day Ammon installed the new door and in the morning, Connor and I went to a kids' symphony performance and out to lunch with his friend Scott and his mother. We had a good time.
Both Ammon and Connor had parts in the Christmas program. Connor sang "Away in a Manger" with the other Primary children. He loves this song. He's been singing it all week.

Ammon also had a part singing with the choir. (Back left).

Then Sunday after Church, our ward did a service project for the Giving Tree. This is an organization that receives no government funding (refused actually because they want to integrate God in helping people). Many ward members brought food and the rest of us served it, helped sort donated clothes and canned goods that were distributed to the homeless that came for the meal. The sweet old lady (she's gotta be 90 years old) that organizes this has done so for 19 years!! She provides a meal to the homeless every Thursday and Sunday evening never knowing where the food will come from but the food always comes- isn't that awesome?! Our Church recently found out about this organization and has been doing many service projects on ward and stake levels to help out. Serving there will be something ongoing that I can have my YW help out with too. For those of you in Tucson, this is a great way to help out and get in the giving spirit. It will probably also help calm the "I wants" from your kids because of the need they will see around them. It was good for us to bring Connor as he and Ammon mingled amongst the homeless seeing kids and families that didn't have enough for their needs. What better gift can you give your kids than a compassionate heart?