A Different Kind of Giving Thanks

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our extended family last Sunday. Johnna's fiance was here from the middle east. relatives. cousins. kids. Filled the house with 16. Crazy. Zoo-ish. Like my childhood.

G got a call and she looked at me and said:

"I don't want to talk now. I'm having so much fun! I have to go"---and then she slid on her belly down the stairs to rejoin cousin Rylee.

So...Today (11/25) Mom, the kids and I were home. I've been fighting an illness and I can see it in a couple of kids eyes and in the snot running down from their noses. We laid low.

However, this morning we talked about giving. We took our change jar along with other change and bills we found around the house and set out to be generous.

We took the change $39 (change sitting around the house doing nothing) along with $1 to D-n-D and bought $5 gift cards. We went to Denny's and bought some more there. We handed them out. We got hugs. Smiles. Thanks. and one silent one who didn't make eye contact.

We bought more D-n-D cards and headed to the Teen Center. More smiles.

My kids learned so much.

The best part:

When we paid with change at D-n-D, G just couldn't let go of her last penny. I didn't make a big deal of it. Told her she could keep it. Later driving in the car, she handed me a wad of napkins. She told me it was a gift. When I didn't open it, she insisted. I opened it and found the single penny in the center of the ball of napkins. She was so proud to give it away - to me.

She demonstrated that she in fact was generous and GOT the point.

Thank you, Lord. For all that we have.

A nice bonus - Denny's had a deal that if you spent $25 on gift certificates, they gave you one extra $5 one - another gift for someone today.

Also, we learned that people really liked choices. We approached people with:

Would you like a Denny's or a D-n-D gift card (vs. would you like a gift card). They liked choices. Nobody turned us down. BTW, they liked D-n-D the best.

We signed the gift cards "From Jesus".

What a tangible way to show love to others and teach the kiddos along the way.

We returned home for a quick lunch, naps and the got up for Turkey Pot Pies (prepared yesterday) and left over pies from Sunday. We rented a movie but never got to it - tomorrow!

Paupi came for dinner.

We did a couple of thanksgiving crafts.

Can I tell you: This was one of the BEST Thanksgivings EVER!

We are so blessed.