And Another One Bites the Dust

Well, another holiday season has passed in our house. All the last minute craziness is over and all the kid's presents are scattered throughout the house.  Our last few days will be spent at the In-Laws just getting a little much needed R&R.  It's also a great time to reflect on the last few days and the passing of the Christmas Season.  What will we do different for the new year? 

This year, my oldest daughter and I spent a lot of time together shopping for the family, wrapping presents, and just talking.  She's getting old enough now that I wanted to make sure that she understood the real meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it every year.  To my amazement, she already knew and really surprised me.  It really warmed my heart to hear my daughter tell me the story of Jesus's birth and sacrifice for mankind.  She really understands the meaning of the Season. 

Another thing we talked about this year differently then last, was the need out there for people that don't have anything.  If you watch any TV, you see commercials all the time about "for $.25 a day, you can feed this child in Ethiopia."  My daughters saw these commercials and repeatedly asked me why the child was so sad and where their parents were.  It was sad to hear them ask and it really made me reflect again on the meaning of Christmas.  This lead me to discuss needy children and how my oldest daughter felt about it.  Together, we decided next year that we are going to go through our local churches, angel tree, etc and take all the money we spent on ourselves and give to needy children next year.  She really liked the idea of being able to help others and that made me feel good.

This is all a plan to make sure that when my children grow up they understand that you don't have to have a lot to be rich, as long as you have your family and that there is always someone else out there that needs more then you do.  I don't think I said that exactly right, but you get the point.  We have been blessed in so many ways in our life and now is as good a time as any to share those blessing with others. 

So, with that being said, I hope you and your family had a very Happy Holiday.  May you be blessed with more then you can ever imagine and may you share those blessings with the one's you love.  Happy New Year!