I love the movie Elf!

What fun we had tonight! The boys and I went to church where they
were showing the movie Elf for the teen helpers. My friend Alison
is the teen helper coordinator and invited me to bring the boys.
I love that movie and it was very cool how they incorporated some
scriptural truth to the movie-about our need to belong and fit in,
and how sometimes we judge a book by it's cover, AND how we shouldn't
need to see to believe. Of course, it misses the point of Christmas
being Jesus's birth and not Santa, but that can be correlated for kids
and sometimes it's just fun to enjoy something and then talk about how
it's fun...but to remember that Christmas spirit isn't Santa--it's Christ!
There were also Christmas cookies, which of course the boys loved!
Marlon is in Indiana with his Pops. A close friend of Pops passed away
and he wanted to go to the funeral. I think it's great that Marlon was
able to take him and get to spend that alone time with Pops. I know
Pops really appreciates it. He will be home very very late tomorrow.
Tomorrow the boys and I have some shopping to do and then we have to go
to church for Secret Service day. This is a new initiative we started to
try and get the congregation more involved in volunteering and service.
They are hoping to do this several times a year. They have partnered with
agencies in the community that needed our help with Christmas projects and
then brought them to the church to ask for help getting it done. There are
almost a hundred people/families signed up to be bell ringers for the Sal-
vation Army, people signed up to wrap gifts for Angel Tree, shoppers for
the Hebron House and stocking stuffers for the Teen Center. We signed up
to take things in for the stockings and then will probably stay to stuff
stockings as well. It should be great and I love to see the kids give.
With all the many mistakes we make as parents, it is good to see them
have this faith and growing as Christians-putting others first and not
being afraid to tell others that they believe!! God is so good!!