Ring the Bell!

Advent Days 10-14
So, the advent activities have been a lot of fun, if not a lot of work.  The cinnamon applesauce ornaments look and smell wonderful with the pine of the Christmas tree.  Wish you could smell it, you would be in "sense" overload - it smells wonderful.
Advent Day 10: Popcorn, hot chocolate, and The Grinch
Tonight we popped some real popcorn in a pan, made hot chocolate and watched the old "Grinch Who Stoel Christmas".  It was a lot of fun, and I have found I prefer popcorn in a pan to the microwave kind any - day (Plus it's probably healthier!) 
Advent Day 11: I purchased the book "God Gave us Christmas" by Lisa Tawn Bergren and we read it together.  If you aren't familiar with this series of books, they are really great.  Other titles include:  "God Gave Us Heaven" "God Gave Us You" and "God Gave Us Two".  I bought them for a great deal on Christian Book Distributors Web-site. 
Advent Day 12: Tonight we played Christmas bingo - (borrowed from my friend Cassie).  When I was in college for education, we had a saying "Don't reinvent the wheel!" and so that helps me not to feel guilty for borrowing others ideas!  The kids enjoyed that too.
Advent Day 13: Tonight was "Ring the Bell" night.  For the past few years Bruce's office has volunteered for the Salvation Army to ring the bell outside of Kroger stores to collect money for them, and last night was his turn.  We had talked about the boys going with him, and Caris and I strolling through the store while they had a turn or two.  By the time last night rolled around, I was not really feeling up to driving the kids 30 minutes to the Kroger where Bruce was. I had been running errands all day (morning) and then again after picking up Conor from the bus stop, but decided it was still a good thing to do, and a way to teach them to give back and serve others.  (Toby ended up staying home with our nurse because he didn't get a nap, AND he's been getting sick!)  So, we went.  I stuck around for a few minutes, got a few groceries, and then came home to put Caris to bed.  When the kids got home, Conor mentioned that they collected more money than normal because they were with dad - Maybe every volunteer should bring their kids with them!  It was a great experience for them, and one we will probably do again next year.  No pictures this time; I forgot my camera; I'm still trying to get into the habit of photographing everything! :)