Wyatt, this is your new favorite song and you say it just like that. How fun that this year you will have more of a reaction to all the gifts you receive. I will be sure to take lots of pics and video because word is you've gotten spoiled rotten! You will be having 4 Christmas celebrations! You have 3 sets of grandparents and of course us. This will actually be the first Christmas we will be celebrating at home as a family. Every year since your dad and I have been together we have split our time between all the families. What a blessing it is to have such a big family but also has become exhausting. We don't want to rush the day anymore so we have come up with a new route. The Henrichsen Grandparents get Christmas Eve morning and the Binker Grandparents get Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we will stay home and enjoy our family and then after naps we will head over to the Westerlind Grandparents house and be with all your Aunts and cousins. Phew!!! Like I said, its a blessing. Their are lots of kids out there who have no family and get nothing. Which is what I want to talk about. I've been packing up old toys to donate and trying to explain to you that we are giving them to other kids to play with. Now, of course you have no idea what I'm talking about but it got me thinking.
A new tradition for us......
Every year we will go through clothes and toys and give them to someone in need. I feel guilty knowing all we have when others have nothing. It breaks my heart actually. Besides donating old things we will also do whatever we can to give other kids a Christmas. A few years ago your Aunt Kari, Aunt Kylie and myself helped with a foster kid Christmas party. We handed out pizza and poured sodas and let the kids eat all the cookies they wanted. Businesses donated food and bounce houses and presents. Some kids just sat at the tables and colored so I joined them to keep them company. One little girl about 7 years old was caring for her 3 year old sister. Ugh broke my heart. She told me all she wanted was to go home and have all her stuff. She also told me her mom was in jail. This little girl had to grow up faster than she should have. I just couldn't leave her alone all day. She finally smiled at one point. I'll never forget that. Your dad had a bunch of carhart coats so I donated a brand new one that day. Luckily there was a bigger 15 year old boy there they planned to give it to. When he opened it he stuffed it back in the bag real quick. I was confused and figured he didn't like it. We found out later that he didn't want anyone to know how much he loved it cause he thought someone would take it from him. I didn't get his thought process but clearly he grew up not having nice things and didn't know how to react. I'll never forget that either. It feels good to give wether its a coat or some quality time to color with a girl whose world was just turned upside down. I want to pass that on to my boys.
So, hopefully I will have come up with good traditions over the years and we can all feel good about how much we receive because we give a lot too. Maybe we will help out at a charity event or maybe we will bring gifts to a local hospital. I will never forget the day I spent with those foster kids but I have forgotten all the wonderful gifts I have gotten over the years. No offense family, my point is there are things that will mark your heart forever and make you feel proud of yourself. Doing good for others allows you to feel good about yourself. I hope this new tradition carries on throughout your life and is something you teach your kids. So for now I will continue to pack up your old toys and eventually you will stop unpacking them!
We went to Virginia City on a Christmas train ride through the town. It was cute and fun. Wyatt, you love trains right now so you were in awe and kept saying "Choo Choo!" Gatlon, you just hung out! Love that we get to do fun stuff with family. Like I said, we are truly blessed. -Love Mom
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