Giving...

This post is long overdue. I have a better reason {excuse} than that I am too terribly busy. I wanted to capture memories of this day but didn't want to bring along my big honkin' camera and thought a nice little pocket sized one would be perfect. The problem is it was borrowed from Jimmy. Kristin has had the worst luck trying to get these pics for me...camera in GR, camera home with no cord, cord is home and pics are loaded at Kristin's, Kris emails them to me but I don't receive them, Kris' computer crashes, the camera goes back to GR...she has a life {and luck} like mine.

I almost finished this post. Then I decided to delete it and start fresh. too much blah blah. I wanted to volunteer in a mission with my boys. The lesson learned would be something I can never teach them. I've only wanted but never acted. A couple of months ago it was mentioned in our church bulletin. The church has a relationship with a church in Muskegon that hosts dinners for the needy. Is that politically correct? It was perfect. I mentioned it to Chris because I thought it would be something she would also enjoy. She was on board too.

The experience was a lot different than I envisioned. The boys were a bit bored because the participation wasn't what I had thought it would be. They did a lot of standing around. The good news is that it wasn't as busy as I assumed it would be, but I was hoping for something else. This seems a little selfish and I don't mean for it to be. I don't have a want for people to need assistance. I just had this picture in my mind of a more diverse group of people. You know, old, young, really young, black, white...all walks of life. I wanted the boys to get that they really do have a good life and that there are many people less fortunate than them not only in the world but really close to home. And I wanted them to get that the people who need help are not all older folks. Many, many of them are children their ages and younger. Keith has told me so many horror stories of small children in his district. I didn't want to scare the boys but I just want them to be aware. And gracious. it is so hard to teach gratitude. I cry every time I get into it with them. Maybe I wanted the lesson for myself. I certainly don't need all the crap I buy, even if I have to at the time.

Everyone can use a swift kick in the reality pants every now and then.

Great guy, but his name escapes me...

Okay, so maybe there wasn't much work to do...

Zachary was wound that evening...

We had a great day, got a few warm fuzzies, tapped our hips to the beat of the music {there was a band} and left with happy hearts. {and hungry tummies...poor kids. I don't know if the message was all too clear in the end. The boys couldn't understand why there was all that food and they couldn't have a small plate of it!}