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Over the weekend we had cousins over. We hadn't seen these girls in a long time, and we had a lot of fun together. Lots of talking and laughing, especially from the girls! :-) My sweet sis-in-law brought a project along, perfect for the season. The local soup kitchen is always in need of sack lunches to distribute out to people having a hard time. SIL had all the girls decorate the brown bags however they wanted -- and then we all hit it, assembly line style, filling each sack with lots of yummies. 
Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays, and it's only become more dear to me through the trials our family's been through over the years. We give heartfelt thanks for even the simplest of blessings -- a home, a job, family -- there have been times that those blessings were threatened or outright denied to us for a time. DH, the Sweet Girl and I remember how that time felt. We clung close to the Lord, but it was still a hard time in our lives. I remember how it felt when kindness and help were extended to us; how much it meant.
So, you know that I just LOVED that my sister in law brought something along that teaches the kids to remember to give back. Yes, be thankful for your blessings, but how about we go one more step, and bless others?
The soup kitchen was thrilled with the sack lunches. They were tickled with the girls' illustrations. They gave us a tour of the facility, which was just icing on the cake. I think the girls got a real feel of the good that they had done. Thanks and Giving. Love it.
:::
I have to say my #1 very favorite craft I've seen out there in the blogosphere this season has to be this one from Chocolate on My Cranium. Thanks and Giving Trees. Cocoa's got a PDF you can download. Go over and check it out. Leave her a comment and tell her how awesome she is!
10 comments:
I love your sack lunch idea. Did the kitchen tell you what they wanted in the lunches or did you just surprise them with a bunch? That is such a great idea and one my kids could help with and would love to do.
I don't remember SIL telling me they had a preference. We put in pretzels, mandarin oranges, raisins, a cracker/tuna ready to go package (saved us making sandwiches that would get squished) and a sweet goodie, if I remember right. We tried to put in healthy good food that would not spoil or get squished easily...
Awwww..... you're so sweet. I've been amazed by the response to the Thanks and Giving trees.
Our small town ahs a soup kitchen that is only open once a week. I've thought about taking my kids to help volunteer there once a month. It's good to help them see beyond themselves.
The rest of the story…
Is that the center said they get more volunteers than they can use -- during the holidays. They laughed and told us they’d been turning people away, saying “please come back in January”. As for the sack lunch and the count of lunches, that was arranged ahead of time. They have better control of what they can do and who they can help that way.
I have really enjoyed your comments on my blog and wanted to come and get to know you better.
Both my husband and I have times in our growing up lives where we were so grateful for the kindness of others. I love this time of year because we have so many opportunities to serve others. Getting the kids involved is a great way to help them remember that not everyone has a home that they get to complain about keeping clean, a job to go to, that they get to complain about, and other things that we are so richly blessed with.
So sad that I did not win the contest but check my site out in a few weeks, you could win something there.
How wonderful for your child to experince the good feeling of helping others. I work in the food pantry in my town and when I can I take my Grand with me. Happy week...m..
Per the idea you highlighted here, I painted and laminated a Thanks Tree poster and a Giving Tree poster. Then I cut out leaves, which we will label and add to the trees. At the end of the month, I plan on taking all the leaves and saving them in an envelope labeled with the year 2008. Someday our little family might enjoy looking back on what we were thankful for and how we gave. Thanks for passing on good ideas.
How awesome :)
I am going to download and print that!
it's a divine idea. I'm so glad you posted it.
By the way - thanks to your post... you and I are on the hunt for the same dishes. So I hope we're not in a bidding war together on ebay!
Darcy
What a wonderful sack lunch idea! I love your previous post, as well. What a wonderful quote-may we think of it often! :)
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