Learning To Serve: Operation Christmas Child

This year, LittleBear put together his first box for Operation Christmas Child and boy, did we have a good time.  We will definitely be making this an annual tradition!  We watched a few videos of kids opening their boxes from previous years and then talked about how this would be the only Christmas presents this little boy who receives our box would have. 

LittleBear seemed game for it, so we headed off to a couple stores shopping for a little boy ages 2-4.  He really enjoyed it and insisted on carrying the basket through the store, even once it was full.  He picked out a lot of his favorites: a bag of dum dum lollipops, a small basketball, a magna-doodle, an ambulance, and an adorable stuffed monkey with really long legs and arms with hands that velcro together.

Here is a list of what we included in our shoe box:
- our letter/coloring page with picture of LittleBear
- sheet of shiny transportation themed stickers
- coloring book of favorite Bible stories
- 24 pack of Crayola crayons
- comb
- toothbrush
- toothpaste
- soap in a plastic travel soap container
- ladybug wash mitt (I tried to heavily suggest he get the frog instead of the ladybug, but there was no changing his mind...ladybug it is)
- basketball
- magna doodle
- wooden ambulance
- wooden ice cream truck
- 4 pack of simple jigsaw puzzles (3 pc, 4 pc, 5 pc and 6 pc)
- stuffed monkey
- six punch balloons
- two of those rolled up party favors that you blow open (not explaining that well at all)
- one bag of dum dum lollipops
- plastic slinky
- strawberry that folds out into a large nylon tote bag (in case the shoe box doesn't last long)

I am told each child also receives a Bible in their own language.   We bought a plastic shoe box from the Dollar Store thinking it would last longer for the recipient than a regular shoe box, but there was no way once it was packed so we resorted to a regular shoe box instead (Yes, I own a pair of purple bowling sneakers).  Next year I think we'll just go with the boxes that Operation Christmas Child provides.

I wish I had taken a picture of the box all packed!  There was no way we could have fit one more thing in there :)  Hopefully our little boy will like everything we picked out.  Next year, I think we'll also do a box for a 10-14 year old boy as I've heard there aren't usually enough of those to go around and I saw a ton of things this year that I think would have been good for a 10-14 yr old boy.

We finally got our box all packed (minus a horse and a cow that wouldn't fit) and stopped off at Chick-Fil-A this afternoon to turn in our box.  LittleBear was so proud.  They gave him a sticker and a coupon for a free chicken sandwich!  One of the ladies at the drop-off said that most of the boxes they pick up at this location end up in Central America, but we'll find out what country it goes to when it gets there.  LittleBear and Mommy are both excited to find out where it goes!
 

30 Days of Thanks: November 28, 29 & 30th

Monday we painted glue line pumpkins with watercolors, which LittleBear really seemed to enjoy. I was thankful this day for the joy that comes out in LittleBear giggles. When he laughs and his whole face lights up, you can't help but smile :)

Yesterday I was particularly thankful for the patience God has with me in that He doesn't give up on me when I make a mistake or get frustrated with me when I act like a two year old (hmm, I wonder what inspired that thought of thankfulness...). We decided to go on a walk and experience the lovely fall weather here. LittleBear loved looking at leaves and collecting acorns...so much so that his pockets were bursting at the seams when we got home.
This evening (one day late) we started our Jesse tree. A seemingly dead stump with a shoot coming out of it to symbolize Jesus being born a baby from the line of Jesse and the earth to symbolize God's creation.
Today, the last day of November, I am thankful for the compassionate love that God felt for us all when He decided to send Jesus to earth to rescue us from the darkness caused by the evil one. I hope you all see evidence of that compassionate love this coming Advent season.

30 Days of Thanks: November 6, 2011

I think most of us have had jobs we have enjoyed and jobs that haven't worked out quite so well. Today I am so, so thankful for our jobs. I have had the privilege of working for the same company in different capacities for 8 years and while now I am only part time, I am still very thankful for my job. It is flexible and lets me stay home with LittleBear, but still provides some extra income. I could not ask for anything better! I am also very thankful for Jeff's job at Baylor. Not only does he enjoy it, which is great, but we also stay connected with the university and enjoy LOTS of benefits including sporting events, special speakers, concerts, plays and more! We love being part of the Baylor community and are so thankful!

We helped LittleBear with an Autumn Fall Tree kit that I found in the dollar section of Target while we listened to songs about being thankful. We unpeeled the leaves and LittleBear stuck them on. We then let him decide where the tree would live in the house. He seemed to really enjoy it!

30 Days of Thanks: November 2, 2011

Today, I'm really, really, really thankful for my health and the health of my immediate family. We have been blessed to (so far) not have endured cancer, chronic illness or loss of limb and I'm very, very grateful for that. I don't want to take my days or the days of my loved ones at all for granted as we never know what the future holds for us, so for right now...I'm thankful.

Today, LittleBear and I made handprint turkey cards with this poem on the inside...well, I mostly made handprint turkey cards. LittleBear helped. We had two dear friends join us and really enjoyed ourselves.

What are you thankful for today?

Treat Night with LittleBear

Usually we ignore Halloween in our house, but there is one exception...Baylor's Faculty/Staff Family Treat Night. The kids of faculty and staff get to walk through a dorm and interact with the students. We don't get to interact with the students very often and Mommy really likes to sew costumes, so we try to take the opportunity where we can! This year we went to Russell Hall, which happened to be the dorm Mommy lived in oh-so-many years ago as a freshman at Baylor. We even saw her old door! LittleBear tends to be on the shy side, but once he realized there were candy, cookies and even a popsicle involved, he became more bold. The students all loved him! So here he is...

Judge me by my size, do you?


And no, the costume isn't perfect, but literally the only time LittleBear would wear it was tonight, so Mommy had to guess on the proportions...she was off a bit on the ears :) It was still fun!

Family Garden: Produce is Coming!

Garden This Week

The garden is still doing well. Actually, it's doing better than ever! The weather cooled off a bit and the plants are definitely happier for it.

I spent some time out there this morning and cleaned it up a bit. The two tomato plants (cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes) are now in cages and the basil plants have had all their flowers picked off. I also planted zucchini and peas in an urn that are beginning to sprout. I still haven't seen any broccoli, but I just don't have the heart to pull it out, so I'm going to leave it in and see what happens.

Box #1:
Box #2:
Box #3 (sadly falling apart- hey, it was the free one I built at a home depot workshop):
*NEW* Urn #1:
We have six honeydew melons, one cantaloupe, lots of green beans and a ton of sweet bell peppers growing. Here are some random shots from today:

Cantaloupe melon:
Green Beans:
Happy Basil:
Cherry Tomato Plant in 54" cage (this plant is taller than me when it stands up straight):
Soon-to-be orange bell peppers:
Soon-t0-be sweet red peppers:
Cherry tomatoes and blossoms:
Golden Honeydew:

Family Garden: Tough Summer

Garden This Week

This has been one tough summer for gardens everywhere, but big time here in Central Texas. I can count on one hand the number of times it has rained and the longest of those was a light rain for about 15 minutes. So, I haven't posted lately because there really wasn't much to say other than I've just been trying to keep my plants alive in the hopes they will start producing more in the fall. I doubt the broccoli plants will and I really should rip them out, but they are still growing and I just can't bring myself to do it.

We did get a harvest this week!!! How fun! We got two handfuls of basil, two more honeydew melons, a handful of tiny onions and 1 cherry tomato. There are quite a few more cherry tomatoes on the plant, which I am very excited about. The weather looks like it might be cooling off a bit (as in under 100 degrees), so hopefully we'll get a lot more cherry tomatoes and maybe some peppers too!

The honeydew and cantaloupe vines both have lots of flowers on them, so we're also hoping for more melons. So, it's been a good week garden-wise! LittleBear has enjoyed looking for ladybugs each morning when we go out to water the garden. It seems they are always clustered in a rolled up pepper plant leaf (looking like they are asleep). He asks me to put one on his hand and let it crawl around for a few minutes. Then he is done. It's very cute...

Anyway, here is what the garden looks like right now:

Box #1:
Box #2:
Box #3:
I have learned some valuable lessons for next spring. For one, I'd like to do a bit more landscaping around the garden boxes to ensure grass and weeds don't grow up into the boxes (something like gravel paths in between). I probably won't grow as many carrots or onions again because I only get one veggie per plant (best case scenario). Still, it's been really fun and I'm looking forward to my new and improved spring garden. It's definitely been a fun learning experience!!!!!!!!

Cherry Tomato Blossoms!
Cherry Tomatoes!
Honeydew flowers:
Cantaloupe flowers:
Purple Sprouting Broccoli plant next to LittleBear:

Family Garden: Giant Honeydew

There's not a lot new going on in the garden this week. I did go out to take these pictures and found a new honeydew melon that I had not seen before, and it's the biggest one yet! That was a fun discovery!

Other than that, not much has changed...Here's what things look like as of now:

Box #1:
Box #2:
Box #3:

Giant Honeydew!
Cherry Tomato Plant:
Much Happier Cantaloupe:
Beanstalk, still going!
Broccoli:
Yummy Bell Peppers: