ringing the bells

the girls and i had the opportunity to help grandma and grandpa ring the salvation army bells over the christmas season.  it is so awesome to see the bigger girls - especially j - starting to see the bigger picture.    santa is fun and all but to see the true meaning of christmas - the giving and sharing of jesus' love and our love for him...well, amen.  we spent the month of december doing a good deed each day.  the girls each had 'good deed' jars and got to pick new deed every morning.  they were so excited each day to see what they got to do - helping with laundry, holding the door for someone, giving a hug, baking cookies for the neighbors, we got pretty creative :)  ringing the bells was a definite highlight of the season and i'm sure we will be doing next year and the next year.