'Tis the season to Give..

The part of Christmas I love the most is the service that goes on all over the world at this time.

So many people give of there time , talents and finances to bless others during the Christmas season.

I know our family has been blessed many times by anonymous givers.

Of course my favorite year that people served our family was the year William was born.

I will tell that story in a minute.

First I want to share the story of our first Christmas at Travis AFB.

It was a very tough year for our family we had just moved to a tiny 4 bedroom apartment on the base our house was about to be in foreclosure in Kansas I was pregnant with our 6th child and had just broken my hand by falling down the Church steps.

It was the week before Christmas and our Bishop called to say that he had Christmas for us and could we meet him at the front gate to pick it up.

When Dale came home had a bag filled with every thing for a Christmas feast and presents for everyone.

I was so overwhelmed with emotion and so grateful for the family and the gift of love they gave us that Christmas season I always wondered who that family was, It wasn't until years later that the mom of that family was sharing with my daughter about their family tradition of making Christmas for a family that has fallen on hardship. She explained that here family would get together and pray for a family to serve they then would buy every thing for Christmas for that family. She shared that storey with my daughter and the rest of the girls in my daughters mi made class at Church and then challenged each girl to earn money by babysitting so that they as a class could make Christmas for a family in our ward.

When Kadie shared that storey with us I was sure that it was here family that had blessed us that year.

I will forever be grateful for this Sister and her family's example to our family.

It is ironic that I am choosing to share our first Christmas at Travis  AFB and our last.

Our last Christmas at Travis AFB was truly magical, blessed and full of service.

In march of 2005 I was really think how I was possibly going to top the Christmas spirit I had the Christmas season 2004 It had been a special Christmas for me it was the Christmas that I got the true Christmas spirit back it was the first time in years that I felt the magic that I had felt as a child.

Then in April I got my answer I just found out we were expecting our 8th and last child.

The baby's due date was Christmas day. For the first time in my life I was hoping to go

 to my due date, since I was a little girl it was my dream to have a Christmas baby.

This Christmas turned out to be more than I could have ever imagined.

As most of you know our Story William was born December 14th our Christmas miracle.

William was just the beginning of our Christmas miracles. We were blessed by so many people in our Church, on our base and many nonprofit organizations.

I would get phone calls daily from organization wanting to give our family things for Christmas. I kept telling them we had plenty and there answers were always the same.

Please let us serve your family.

How could I say know to these blessed saints that wanted to serve us.

I remember sitting with my sister and Dear friend Valerie overwhelmed with all the Christmas presents that were filling my house.

I looked at all the presents and said each of these presents represent love.

On Christmas day I remember waking up with William in my arms thinking how truly blessed I was.

We got all the kids up and  think there eyes about bulged out of there heads at the site of all the Christmas presents.

We then explained that we had many santa's helpers this year.

We told them how the community wanted to help make this a special Christmas for them because of William.

I remember my son Robbie say so Santa is real he just sometimes has helpers to help him.

My kids often talk about this Christmas it it is one I will always Cherish it is the only Christmas that our whole family was together.

I now have a challenge for all of you 1st I would love to hear your stories of Christmas service.

2nd I want you my blogger readers to find a family or cause to serve this Christmas season.

I know for many of you this has been a hard year economically so don't think I am saying spend money.

There is so many other ways like being a bell ringer, reading the Christmas stories in an asstent living home.

Sing Christmas carols door to door.

help out in a soup kitchen. Go your local childrens hospital and read to the childern. There are so many diffrent things you can do.

If you blog about it be sure to send me your link I would love to hear how you all choose to serve.