Monday, December 22, 2008
Just A Quick Note
Just a quick note to explain why I haven't been visiting yall's blogs or posting much here - we've had a death in the family (10 hours from home) and have been dealing with that. Please excuse my absence, I'll be back when I can. Hope you all are doing well!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Christmas and Charities
Yall, I can't believe Christmas will be here so soon. I've been expecting it all along, but then out of nowhere it's crept up on me, too. Almost all of my shopping is done, I did most of it online this year and let me tell you how wonderful (wonderful!) it is to not be fighting the masses and shopping in real live stores. There are a few things I have to get locally that I'm going to pick up today and tomorrow, but for the most part my Christmas shopping this year has been of the technological sort. Want to see some of my favorites that we've gotten for L?
She will love this little doggie playset - we've got two dogs of our own and she adores them.
This set of blocks will be a big hit:
Hubby and I are digging this pulling alligator and we're pretty sure L will, too.
One of my favorite possessions as a child is a baby doll that was given to my mother by my great grandfather on the day she was born. It was passed down to me and was one of my favorites toys growing up and now L happily plays with it all the time, too. But, she's not very snuggily since her face, arms and legs are hard vinyl and she's still a bit big for L to easily carry around, too, so we're getting her this doll which looks super soft and toddler friendly.
While I've been hunting for great deals online I've also been looking at charities and trying to decide where to donate my funds I've set aside from my Christmas budget. I think I've narrowed it down to three:
Heifer International - I am so loving the fact that you can give needy families goats and ducks. That the benefitting families then pass along some of the offspring of their animals to other needy families in their area is fantastic, too.
Living Water International - A basic need for everyone is what this charity provides - clean water. You'll be surprised by how cheap it is to provide it, too, just .98 for one person for an entire year.
The Real Hope for Haiti Rescue Center - I've been following the blog of Lori, one of the women who run the center, for some time now and am constantly amazed at the severity of the situation there for so many children (and adults, too). The pictures of these kids breaks my heart and lead me to prayer each and every time I read a new entry. Read this post, look at that child, who at 7 months old weighs less than 9 pounds. The work they are doing is so important and so vital to their community.
Any charities you'd like to recommend we take a look at? Leave us a link in the comments section.
She will love this little doggie playset - we've got two dogs of our own and she adores them.
This set of blocks will be a big hit:Hubby and I are digging this pulling alligator and we're pretty sure L will, too.
One of my favorite possessions as a child is a baby doll that was given to my mother by my great grandfather on the day she was born. It was passed down to me and was one of my favorites toys growing up and now L happily plays with it all the time, too. But, she's not very snuggily since her face, arms and legs are hard vinyl and she's still a bit big for L to easily carry around, too, so we're getting her this doll which looks super soft and toddler friendly.
While I've been hunting for great deals online I've also been looking at charities and trying to decide where to donate my funds I've set aside from my Christmas budget. I think I've narrowed it down to three:
Heifer International - I am so loving the fact that you can give needy families goats and ducks. That the benefitting families then pass along some of the offspring of their animals to other needy families in their area is fantastic, too.
Living Water International - A basic need for everyone is what this charity provides - clean water. You'll be surprised by how cheap it is to provide it, too, just .98 for one person for an entire year.
The Real Hope for Haiti Rescue Center - I've been following the blog of Lori, one of the women who run the center, for some time now and am constantly amazed at the severity of the situation there for so many children (and adults, too). The pictures of these kids breaks my heart and lead me to prayer each and every time I read a new entry. Read this post, look at that child, who at 7 months old weighs less than 9 pounds. The work they are doing is so important and so vital to their community.
Any charities you'd like to recommend we take a look at? Leave us a link in the comments section.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wednesday Internet Wanderings - 12-10-08
Go on over to the Handmade Toy Alliance to see how you can help save toys that are handmade in the USA, Canada and Europe. There are new regulations that are supposed to go into effect soon in the US that could bankrupt those small businesses that make handmade toys. Yikes!
This post, from The Simple Dollar, about what children really want for Christmas is a good read, especially at this time of year.
Yall should watch this video from the Rethinking Christmas website:
I'm sure all of us could take a few of our dollars budgeted for gifts and find a way to use them for somebody less fortunate than us. I know in my area the food banks are in desperate need of canned goods, lots of groups are collecting toys for kids who might otherwise have no gift under the tree Christmas morning and churches are asking for blankets and jackets for those who have no warm bed to sleep in at night.
There are lots of ways we can bless somebody else this season, even without buying anything at all. Do you have an old sweater, pants or shoes you don't wear anymore? Consider donating to a homeless shelter or your local charity thrift store. Donating your time can be even more valuable to some charities than donating your money. Look around and see how you can make this Christmas season brighter for others.
By the way, I'm preaching to myself here, too. I think God was trying to send me a message yesterday - I heard a Christmas song while driving to the library last night that really spoke to me about what the real meaning of the season is. I received an email about children in Indonesia who have been persecuted because of their Christian faith which made me think about how much God has blessed me. And then I saw that video last night. So, my mind is made up, I'm going to work to put my beliefs in action. After all, to use that old catchy phrase, what would Jesus do?
This post, from The Simple Dollar, about what children really want for Christmas is a good read, especially at this time of year.
Yall should watch this video from the Rethinking Christmas website:
I'm sure all of us could take a few of our dollars budgeted for gifts and find a way to use them for somebody less fortunate than us. I know in my area the food banks are in desperate need of canned goods, lots of groups are collecting toys for kids who might otherwise have no gift under the tree Christmas morning and churches are asking for blankets and jackets for those who have no warm bed to sleep in at night.
There are lots of ways we can bless somebody else this season, even without buying anything at all. Do you have an old sweater, pants or shoes you don't wear anymore? Consider donating to a homeless shelter or your local charity thrift store. Donating your time can be even more valuable to some charities than donating your money. Look around and see how you can make this Christmas season brighter for others.
By the way, I'm preaching to myself here, too. I think God was trying to send me a message yesterday - I heard a Christmas song while driving to the library last night that really spoke to me about what the real meaning of the season is. I received an email about children in Indonesia who have been persecuted because of their Christian faith which made me think about how much God has blessed me. And then I saw that video last night. So, my mind is made up, I'm going to work to put my beliefs in action. After all, to use that old catchy phrase, what would Jesus do?
Monday, December 08, 2008
Hi again!
Well, howdy there folks! I hope you all had a lovely week last week. I was on a sort-of internet hiatus, partly because I was needing to be refreshed after NaBloPoMo and partly because I needed every spare moment on the computer to be devoted to finishing the grandparents' Christmas present - a lovely (if I do say so myself. And I do.) photobook with pictures of L from this past year. We gave all the grandparents a photobook last year and it was such a hit that we knew we would do another this year.
The photobooks are such a great gift, they're relatively cheap (I paid about 11.00 for each one) and because everybody loves them so much, nobody notices that it's the only gift they get.
:)
Our Christmas gifting has changed over the years, as more and more children have come into the world, we've gone from gifts for all the special adults in our lives to gifts only for our parents and grandparents. We simply can't afford gifts for all our brothers and sisters (between hubby and I we have 9 siblings, plus their spouses), all our adults friends, etc. Last year we decided that we'd get small gifts for the children in our lives, a small gift for our parents and grandparents (the photobooks), and gifts for our little family. That's it.
We also do a relatively small Christmas for our family, as well. Gifts are not the focus of the season for us, so it's easy to do, and it seems to make each thoughtful gift that much more special.
Anywho, I'm back and soon will be stopping by all your blogs that I didn't get to visit last week. Hope you all are doing well!
The photobooks are such a great gift, they're relatively cheap (I paid about 11.00 for each one) and because everybody loves them so much, nobody notices that it's the only gift they get.
:)
Our Christmas gifting has changed over the years, as more and more children have come into the world, we've gone from gifts for all the special adults in our lives to gifts only for our parents and grandparents. We simply can't afford gifts for all our brothers and sisters (between hubby and I we have 9 siblings, plus their spouses), all our adults friends, etc. Last year we decided that we'd get small gifts for the children in our lives, a small gift for our parents and grandparents (the photobooks), and gifts for our little family. That's it.
We also do a relatively small Christmas for our family, as well. Gifts are not the focus of the season for us, so it's easy to do, and it seems to make each thoughtful gift that much more special.
Anywho, I'm back and soon will be stopping by all your blogs that I didn't get to visit last week. Hope you all are doing well!
Labels:
holidays
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)