Operation Christmas Child

Before Caleb was born we started doing Operation Christmas Child and being able to participate is something that I look forward to all year long. Obviously the first couple of years of Caleb's life he wasn't able to comprehend what we were doing. Then, when he turned 3, he threw the biggest fit in Target because he wanted all the stuff in the box and didn't want somebody else to get anything. He has come so far in a few short years. This year he was so excited to buy something for his "friend" and picked out all the things that he would want if he were getting a shoebox. I was so proud of my boys - neither one of them asked for anything when we went shopping for their "friends" (that's what they kept calling them!). Okay, Lukie did ask once for a motorcycle, but when I told him "no", he didn't make a peep. That has to count for something, especially around here. They were both SO excited about their shoeboxes and Caleb packed his with such loving care.

This is Luke's new pose when you ask him to smile. I have no idea why his arm shoots straight into the air, but every time you say "smile" it does!

As an end note, Joseph was out of town when we went to the store to buy all the things for our shoeboxes. So, I took all 4 kids to the Dollar Store to go shopping. Please learn from my mistakes. When they built the double stroller, they weren't thinking about the aisles at the Dollar Store! I left a trail of things that were knocked over by the stroller! Oh, and we walked out of the store with a whole bunch of red cloth napkins that we didn't want or pay for. I was using them to prop up the girls bottles. I didn't notice until I had everyone loaded in the car. We were (and are!) a sight to behold!