the party

We changed things up a bit from last year

and had the birthday cake for breakfast.

Once again,

we read from Matthew 25 to find out what gifts Jesus would like.

Without knowing how much money we were contributing,

each kid dug deep into their piggy banks

(which are really just sad wrinkled envelopes)

so they could give too.

Then

we passed out envelopes of homemade cash in assorted bills.

There was an extra envelope with a glittery pickle on it.

A few years before she died,

Granny started the pickle tradition:

She'd hide a pickle ornament in the tree

and whoever found it 

got an extra gift.

While ornament shopping,

we found a pickle just like hers

and decided we'd carry on the tradition.

with a twist:

the pickle finder would get an extra $50 

to spend on birthday gifts for Jesus!

 Jeremiah found it! 

I grabbed a stack of envelopes

and a piece of paper.

As Tony determined where to buy what,

I quickly wrote it in a chart.

As people decided what they wanted to purchase

I'd stick the money in an envelope

neatly labeled with the item, how much it cost

and which charitable organization we'd buy it from.

From Compassion, we bought Jesus

1 cow

3 goats

a swingset

and

a skilled birth attendant for 1 birth

(guess who chose that ;-)

We purchased

5 chickens

from Partner's International Harvest of Hope

(I also ordered their book!)

From  Samaritan's Purse we got

bees for a family, so they could start a honey business

and Lily and Lexi got food for a week for 9 hungry babies

or their nursing mommas.

We kinda hit the jackpot with World Vision.

We gave $73 for clothes and that gift will be multiplied 

11 times - providing $803 worth of warmth!

Our gift of $21 for emergency food will be quintupled.

I kinda wanted to specify the food go to Haiti,

since that's where the Hendricks are,

but the money would only have been quadrupled,

so it seemed wiser to just give to the global food crisis.

We also got mosquito nets for 2 families

and gave 50 bucks to the Maximum Impact Fund,

so World Vision could use the money where it was most needed.

This Christmas, all together,

wait - I've got to add it up.....

Oh, YAY!!

All together

We gave $691 to feed, clothe, and look after Jesus!

(I feel like it seems like I'm bragging,but that really isn't my heart!

I just want us to be able to look back later and see what we gave,

 as encouragement and also as a challenge to live even more generously)

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Thank-you, God, for giving the unimaginable gift,

Your Son. Your only Son.