My Kids Are Getting It!

My kids are getting it and I couldn't be more proud! No, I'm not talking about the "must have" toy nor are my kiddos in trouble. LOL! That couldn't be farther from the truth.

I'm talking about the important stuff we have been trying to teach them since they were itty bitty. All of our efforts are paying off and it shows.

This past week-end is proof of that. You see, on Saturday, we made our monthly trip to one of the local homeless centers. We go every month and help out however we can. It never fails. Each month, I can see new ways we can help and I am so blessed by the clients and their gratitude.

Anyway, when we arrived on Saturday, I could tell the director was a bit stressed out with all that was going on and things that needed to be done yet for the Christmas party. She was very happy to see us and asked us to staff the clothing table. I took the garbage bags and boxes of donated clothing and did my best to sort the items by gender and size and I supervised the table for the rest of the day. We're talking about used clothing here--including used underwear--and the clients were so very grateful to receive it.

No sooner than I would pull out a sweatshirt or a blanket out of the bag and it would be gone into the hands of someone who was desperate for the warmth it would provide. My mom crocheted about a dozen hats for me to take there. They were gone immediately as well. When I mentioned to one of the clients that my mom had made the hat, he wanted to make sure I thanked her for him and let her know how much he appreciated her.

When all the clothing had been sorted, my husband moved on to help serve the food and our kids floated between helping us and playing with other children. My kids started to play with another volunteer's child who was a bit older than them, a girl who was about 12. While both of us could see the kids, we were still busy and we weren't close enough to hear or directly supervise our kids.

It wasn't until after we left that I heard what had happened so I know my kids are getting the message.

When the food line formed, the girl asked my two kids to get in line with her to get a lunch and a cupcake. My son told her, "No, let's let the homeless go first so they can have something to eat." The girl got in line anyway. My kids turned around and walked away.

Yet that's not the end of this story. On Sunday, we were invited to attend another Christmas party. This one was put on by a local retirement community who wanted to celebrate Christmas with members of the military.

Like the previous party we attended, they had a Santa (in normal black boots this time) and gave out gifts. My son received a cool Hot Wheels set where the cars flew through a ring of fire. Well, there was this little boy, about 4 years old, at the table behind us. We could tell the little boy liked the car set because he stood there quietly and kept looking at it. Without us saying a word, Bryce gave the toy to the little boy.

Oh, how I wish I had had my camera ready. The look on that little boy's face was so very precious. Pure joy at its best.

So, yes, our kids are getting it and we couldn't be more proud.