Service Advent

I already wrote a bit about this on Small Fry but wanted to make sure and document it here too.
As I said in my Christmas post, the non-stop conversations about presents and what Santa will bring everyone was wearing on me and I felt like I had to do something quick to curb the materialism and consumerism and get our hearts back on track for the purpose of Christmas.
the 25 days of service advent totally cured all that was ailing me and sort of rewired our thought process while we were at it.
after picking a way to serve someone everyday, we stopped picking items and we just kept our eyes open to how we could help others. Hayes totally lead the way, lead the conversations, and reminded me each day. it was such an awesome experience!
popcorn cranberries for the chickens.

we made cards - i cut out the shapes but they glued everything down - and then i wrote encouraging notes on the back.

then we delivered them to windshields around town. Hayes flipped out when we saw this truck and insisted we leave them a note because ice cream guys do a good job. his words, but you can't argue!

the pic that started it all - Hayes the kid who always has hands full of toys, a back pack full of his favorites we can't leave the house with. the one who would sooner wrestle a small toddler than share a toy - filled up two bags full of toys happily. this picture reminds me to never hold my kids back with my own assumptions about them. he's such a good kid, i definitely don't deserve his goodness.

we'll definitely be doing it next year and forevermore. find the printable here.