My intention was to share another holiday cookie recipe today, but that was a bust. While I had fun making the cookies with the boys, they didn’t turn out so great. I can’t find the “tried and true” sugar cookie recipe that I used in the past, so I tried a new one from a recipe card that I received at an event a couple of years ago. That was a big mistake, because Sean was the only one who liked them. Then again, Sean claims to like practically everything that he has a hand in preparing! I’ll spare you the recipe, but I do have something sweet to share from this past weekend.
This month, Reggie and I are helping the kids focus on giving. They have a bad case of the holiday “I want. I want. I want.” syndrome, so we are trying to help turn that around by focusing on “I want to give”! Instead of waiting for big group opportunities to help those in need, we are just doing a couple of things as a family. After a family night discussion, we decided that we would do something for “Ms. M.” one of the elderly women in our church that was having some health challenges. We asked the kids what they thought we should do for her. They came up with four things:
1. Make her a get well card.
2. Visit her and give her a hug. (Sean’s “gift” is giving hugs :-)!)
3. Ask her what she can eat and take her something.
4. Ask her what she wants or needs (overall) and try to give/do that for her.
Reggie and I liked all of their ideas, so that is what we did this past Saturday. First, they made “Ms. M.” a card.
They also made her a winter themed craft.
The only thing that “Ms. M.” mentioned that she wanted was some bananas, so we brought those over. We also brought over some cupcakes from Sprinkles. (Hence, the post image of a Sprinkles cupcake. We had attended a holiday cupcake decorating class with the owner Candace Nelson the night before, but I’ll post about that later!)
Cards, crafts, cupcakes and hugs (of course) combined to make a fun Saturday visit. I’m not quite sure that we have convinced the kids that it is “better to give than to receive”, but at least they are seeing that giving can be fun and brighten up someone else’s day. It’s a start…
