one of the traditions that we do as a family is to pack shoeboxes for samaritian's purse. this is something we have done before we had kiddos and we thought it was important for noah and his sister to realize how blessed we are as a family and nation.
today we ended up packing 22 shoe boxes for this event which was 2 more than we had planned. some might think we are crazy to do that many but it really isn't hard if you start stocking up on stuff throughout the year. when i see crayons on sale, i buy 20 boxes. when i see 50% off pencils, i buy a gross. when i see stickers on sale, i stock up. we have had a big laundry basket full of stuff in our closet just for this very event!
noah helped me out in dividing up the toys, making sure each box had some pencils and toothpaste. he is finally at the age where he gets it - i can explain to him that some kids do not have any toys and he will say "why mama?" and we can have a conversation about it.
we went out to the store tonight to look for some pencil sharpeners to put into the boxes. i told noah he could pick a toy since he was so good in helping out. when he got home, noah said to me " mama, i am going to share my toy, i have a lot of toys already" - that totally melted my heart that my son could at the age of 3 understand what it meant to be generous.
that alone made all the time we spent on this project worth it - to see noah understand what it means to share with those less fortunate than him is something i hope that stays with him the rest of his life.
Wonderful thing that you guys do! And so sweet of Noah to share his toy with others!
Posted by: slammie | November 16, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Wow, what a powerful story to share! The Word says a child will lead them...Obviously Noah is learning to be sensitive to others! What great parents you two must be!
Posted by: Glyniss | November 16, 2009 at 02:20 PM
Oh, what a great, great idea...thanks for sharing. I try to come up with way to show my kiddos just how blessed they really are. This is a great way....thanks. Have a blessed day.
Posted by: elisa | November 16, 2009 at 02:41 PM
I think that's jusr wonderful! God Bless!
Posted by: Jennifer | November 17, 2009 at 06:53 PM
How blessed you are to have a child so caring. Good job!
Posted by: Nancy B | November 17, 2009 at 10:00 PM
that is really sweet of Noah!
Posted by: Merdrey | November 22, 2009 at 08:34 PM