My Christmas Gift

Every time I think I know how blessed I am to parent the children I parent, they up the ante and I realize I am one truly fortunate mama.

It is now 1:00 AM and Santa finally was able to visit.  While leaving gifts out for the kids, Dominick and I received one of our own.

The kids had left out the plate of cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer, and both Matthew and Angela had left notes for him which we had not yet read.  As we snuck back in the bedroom after having finished with stockings, we opened up their sealed letters and read them.  What treasures they were!

From Angela:

Hello Santa.  How are you? I am very happy to saw you.  Thank you for being so genores (generous).  Santa if you can't give me the gift I will understood you.  But if you can't give me I steel have a gift because I saw you.  That my very best gift.  Thank you  Angela

Yea, almost cried with that one.  Then moved on to Matthew's.  It requires a little explanation first.  There is a man in town who is known by just about everyone.  He meanders in and out the stores, walks everywhere he goes, and is developmentally disabled.  He is someone whom many simply choose to avoid or ignore, but there are others who accept his warm hello's and greet him.  We were in McDonald's the other day when he came up to us and wished us Merry Christmas and talked to the kids gently about Santa.  Dominick is always talking to him when we see him around, so the kids were not uncomfortable with him and don't see him as being a threat.  When we lef,t the kids all wondered if he would get a Christmas gift, so we went to Walmart right then and got a backpack and filled it with a few things like socks, gloves, a utlity tool, etc.  Then we went home and wrapped it all up and placed it in the backpack, and have spent several days looking for him to give him his Christmas gift.  The kids have asked daily if we could go to town and look for him, which we have, but wouldn't you know it...we can't find him anywhere at his usual haunts. 

Matthew came home this evening after church and grabbed some paper to write a note.  I figured it would be the usual note, but was surprised to read it below:

Dear Santa,

Since you gave ALL the good girls and boys presents, I was wondering if you knew a chubby man who is mentally disabeled and is friendly  and is old with white hair.  If you know him please give us his name and address so we can give him Christmas.  He is just so friendly and has the Christmas spirit.  We wouldn't want him to miss Christmas.  Kindly, Matt

There is no gift ever that would means as much as knowing our children have these kinds of hearts.  How did God select us to parent them?  We are so unworthy of this sort of goodness in our lives...this is pure, this is the sort of love and warmth we get to live with every single day.  This just happened to be Angela and Matthew, but Olesya, Joshua and Kenny at various times have all shown this sort of care and compassion for others.  Often "others" is us as their parents.

So blessed...so very, very blessed...thanks, God, for the gift of our family.