i hope you all had a blessed thanksgiving! whether or not you’re going through some hard times or are smooth sailing through life right now, i hope you all took the time to acknowledge the blessings that are in your life…big or small! an honest look at the blessings that surround us each and every day can buoy the downest {is that a word?} of souls! *promise*

{thankful for crazy traditions = pumpkin ice cream for breakfast & turkey legs bigger than the kid eating it!}

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with the gentle closing of the door of thanksgiving {though i pray you give thanks throughout the year!}, Christmas comes a knockin’ with great force on that massive door called *black friday* i’d be lying to you if i told you i don’t *do* black friday. i do make it a point to go out to at least one store, but not necessarily to shop. i’m a people watcher by nature, and nothing is more intriguing and interesting to me than to grab a cup of coffee {duh} and wander through the masses of crazy, deal-snatching peoples. yep. i’m that girl. in fact, that’s exactly what i’m going to do after i publish this post.

in recent years though, i’ve lost even the desire to that {obviously not entirely, ha!}, as news reports always surface of the craziness that starts to ensue over these *great, can’t-live-without* deals. people get hurt. killed {dear Lord…} over relatively small amounts of money in the grand scheme of things. someone posted this on my facebook feed and i couldn’t help but laugh…in a sad, pathetic way, it’s funny. because, it’s true.

oui.

and as per usual, my deep thoughts run rampant, and they push deeper. i used to love Christmas {translation : i still love Christmas for all it stands for. the celebration of the birth of our Savior. the giving of gifts to celebrate those we love. the traditions.} but i don’t love how mechanical it starts to feel. how gift giving can start to feel like a chore instead of a great way to show our love. how money gets tight.

all these things can wear on a person and overshadow what Christmas is all about, but mostly, i don’t like the feeling i have deep down inside that feels like i’m priming my kids to always want more, to never be satisfied with what they have, to think that what they have is not enough or that they always need the next best thing. i can’t help but feel that we’re teaching them not to acknowledge the things they do have, to be thankful for the toys they already own, the clothes, the food…and i wonder if they know how truly blessed they already are to own 1,000 hot wheels cars {i exaggerate, but not much}, that they don’t have to worry about if they’ll be warm or hungry at night; and likewise, to know that there are kids in the world who would be overjoyed with something as simple as a new coat, or food on the table.

it’s a fine line we walk, and like a tight-rope walker in the circus, i’m trying to find the perfect balance. a point of equilibrium where i can enjoy lavishing my kids with gifts and feel satisfied knowing they are grateful and that we have done our part to help those who don’t have much, and mostly, that my kids are aware and sensitive of these things. spoiled, grateful, giving-back kids. is that possible? probable? i think so!

in the lovely land of pinterest, i found this four gift rule, and i fell in love! what a great way to alleviate all my deep thought worries from above! spoil my kids, but don’t over spoil them. spend money but not overly spend! brilliant. there was just one modification i felt the need to make, so here is my own list with an additional gift added for a grand total of 5 gifts…

wonderful right? this will be my mantra throughout the Christmas shopping season. i’ll let you know how it goes! 🙂

the other side of the tight rope is encouraging my kids to recognize how blessed they already are and to make them aware {age appropriately} that there are kids/families out there that may not have everything they need. this year we packed boxes for operation Christmas child. we watched videos showing the kids in poor countries receiving their gifts and how overjoyed they were to receive their boxes of toys and toothbrushes and other essential items for everyday living. the boys were super in to packing their boxes and were excited to spread the Christmas cheer to children across the world. we’ll also be flipping through the world vision catalogue as part of our Christmas traditions, selecting things like chicks and mosquito nets that literally help save lives and provide food for poor families in the coming years.

in doing all this, the hope is to lay the foundation for compassionate, grateful hearts. brick by brick, gift by gift, building up compassionate, loving men and women for the future…will you join me? the best way for them to learn this is to lead by example. start incorporating things like these into your Christmas traditions, or maybe you already have your own? if you do, please share! i would love to hear your stories, your traditions!

in lou of black friday, let’s go with something like *philanthropy friday.* i’m excited to tell you that any templates purchased between now and november 30th all the money will be donated to world vision, so that we can all spread the joy of Christmas! if you’ve been on the fence about buying it, or if you have friends you think would love it, please, please share this link! i’ll keep you updated as orders come in…let’s spread Christmas cheer across the world!

happy day all!