This week is collection week and this morning we dropped off the shoe boxes we packed a week ago. What I like most about this family tradition of ours is that it enables my kids to think of others before they start the holiday season. I take them shopping and they pick out things they want to put in their box. And believe me, they would love to keep every single item they buy. Yet they have to give it away. My hope is that they will always live their lives like that, thinking of others first. Probably not going to happen, but a mama can try, right?

Between the AHG and our Cub scouts troop we had 59 boxes. They barely fit in our trunk. Below is a rare appearance of my son Shane. He usually does not like me to take his picture. Today he felt generous and gave me permission to put this picture in my blog.

Here is Lori from Calvary who has been working with Operation Christmas Child for the last several years. She remembers us when we show up.

After we dropped the boxes we got cookies and hot chocolate and wandered around the Calvary campus. Calvary is Albuquerque’s biggest church, with 15, 000+ members.

Do you have any fun family traditions? Angel Tree comes to mind as another way of shopping for other children first. The gifts go to children of prisoners. Or the toy drives that fire fighters do every year.

-Sofija