Get a Shoebox, Pack It UP!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE to give gifts. I wish I had extra cash to spend each month on buying things for others. I get such excitement in finding just the right thing! I love Christmas! I love the decorations, the smells of mulled spices, the laughter thick in the air! It's just such a happy time for us!
This time of the year there is so much talk about what the kids want for Christmas and how many toys Santa can bring. Manly and I decided a few years back that we would minimize Christmas down to two gifts per child. We let the kids draw names and get each other one gift $10 or less, then Manly and I give them one gift each as well. The last few years the kids haven't even noticed we've scaled back as they still get so many gifts from other family and friends.
I want to teach our kids that giving to others is so much more rewarding than getting things for themselves. I really want them to be excited to GIVE to others even if that means a sacrifice on their own part. I want our kids to learn to put others before themselves early on, so that it's ingrained in their character.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. OCC takes shoeboxes stuffed with goodies to children all over the world and tells them the good news about Jesus! This year our church is trying to meet a goal of 1500 boxes. The excitement is thick throughout the church as community groups are having packing parties and families are getting together to pack extra boxes. Early on, Addison had picked out a shoebox at church to bring home and fill. I'm pretty sure she was confused at first, thinking there was going to be a gift inside for her,  but once she found out we were giving them to other children she was determined to get just the right things in her box. ESPECIALLY a PINK tutu!



Last week, after seeing a video at church for OCC, Olivia decided we could do at least 6 more boxes with all the extra stuff we had that we had plans to sell at Rhea Lana's. Because we have 5 kids the amount of stuff that comes into our house is CRAZY! I knew she was right, so the next day Olivia and I went through our "sell" boxes and found all the new little stuffed animals, purses, and jewelry, and anything else we thought we could use to fill boxes.



We ended up with a tub FULL of stuff. We raided Manly's strange drawer full of hotel toiletries and were able to get a full set of toiletries for each box. It was so fun to watch the kids get excited about giving to others. Even Isaiah sat in the floor and helped us pack up the boxes. Such a blessing to be able to do this with the kids.

My sweet big girls were so excited to each put tutus, hats, and purses in their boxes!

KK thought it was so cool that she got to give a stuffed dog and of course loved picking out just the right candy.

Mia mostly just wanted to eat the inserts, but here she is with her box. She had finger puppets and other fun smaller kid toys in her box.

The big kids with their boxes. Notice my fashion diva with her wrapped box!

All the kids with all the boxes. Seconds after I took this picture Mia tried to dive off the stairs. She was NOT in the mood for pictures!

 If you want to know more about Operation Christmas Child click here. I would encourage you to pack as many boxes as you can! It's such a blessing to give together as a family and an even bigger blessing for some sweet child across the globe to hear about Jesus!