Friday, December 14, 2007

Bells Are Ringing

A ringing we go
In the cold and in the snow
The boys love it so

We give of our time
To teach the boys how to love
And what Christmas means

Some have so little
We have, food, warmth, love, family
We are so lucky
Todd said this picture just looks like we were standing out in front of a store. Do you want to see the other pics we took while ringing the bells for The Salvation Army? Trust me this is was the best one, but here they are...

You can't even see little Tommy's face, and Joey was behind the pole.


This one looks like we had to sedate Joey. He was excited, but drugs were unnecessary. There are about 6 other pics like this one, but I think you get the idea.

I had been wanting to sign us up for ringing the bells for some time, and yesterday around noon Todd calls and says, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, but we have to ring the bells tonight at 5. Is that ok?" Men. I later found out that he had known for at least 2 weeks, and all of his office assistants kept reminding him to tell me, but oh well.

I was a little worried about how the boys would do in the cold, but we bundled them up so well that they were actually getting sweaty. In all honesty, we had a blast. All of the customers going in to the store were laughing at us because we were all jumping up and down, singing, dancing, and wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas!" Every time someone would put money in the bucket we would hoot and holler, "Wooohoooo!! Thank you! Merry Christmas!!! Happy Holidays! Yeah!!" It was pretty funny.

We had a great night. And to top it off all of the boys slept perfectly last night. They went to bed at 7:45 and I had to wake them up at 7:30 this morning so we could get to school on time. I had a perfect night's sleep. It was awesome. I hope it is a sign of a great weekend to come. We have a ton to pack in to one little weekend, and I'm hoping we don't burn out halfway through. I'm sure I will get many opportunities to practice being patient and calm. Let's all keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

How great to be teaching them the true meaning of Christmas. I applaud you! Hope your weekend goes well!

Wright
www.igottatheory.blogspot.com

Brittany said...

Wow! That is great! How awesome that you served your time in such a way, and what a great lesson for your boys. Looks like you all had some fun! :)

Laura said...

What a great family tradition to teach the real meaning of Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Julie Pippert said...

What a great thing to do as a family (except your husband forgetting to tell you!). And don't you all look fantastic!

Julie
Using My Words

Unknown said...

My little guy loves the bell ringer at the grocery. We have to deposit a dollar every time we go...which is normally three times a day. How wonderful to teach the boys! This week my mission was to emulate your ku last week... Now, I know my mission for next week.

Homegrown Tribe said...

You're such a cute family! That's great you did that. I bet the boys will remember that forever.

have a great weekend!

Chrissy said...

Wow, you really make it look like a lot of fun. What a great idea!

Kellan said...

That picture is really good and it looks like you are having fun - good for you for doing this and showing your kids that it is important to help others!!! Have a great weekend, Kathryn.

Beck said...

Aw, you guys are a beautiful family AND you do kind things with your children! Good work.

Unknown said...

I left you something at my place for all your Christmas do-goodery.

Toni said...

What a lovely family doing such lovely things. Great ku; happy weekend!

painted maypole said...

good for you. your husband looks as if he loves nothing better than ringing a bell in the cold.

Patois42 said...

You're doing your kids a great honor by showing them how it's really done.

OHmommy said...

ummm... can anyone say "Mother of the Year award?"

Heehee... Merry Christmas to a cute family!

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson