Believe it or not, there was a moment several weeks before Christmas when Cole said to me, “Mom, I don’t want anything for Christmas because I have so much already. Can we just ask Santa to bring me food and stuff that I can donate to an animal shelter?” I just looked at him with pride, he was sincere and I knew it. I told him that he had been very good this year, so I am sure Santa would bring him something. BUT, we could also ask Santa to bring us a gift card to buy some food to donate to a shelter. He smiled. And I knew he wasn’t perfect – just days later he told me, “Mom, I decided I would like some legos and maybe an iphone too from Santa.” 🙂 After all, he is only 8 years old.
Nevertheless, Santa met his wishes. In Cole’s stocking was a $10 gift card to WalMart with a note on it to buy some dog food for an animal shelter. He ran over to me when he saw it with a big smile on his face. So last week we went to WalMart and bought some dog food and a few toys.
The trip to deliver them was interesting because I passed up the shelter several times before I finally saw it! The kids were quite amused. Nevertheless, we made it, parked, and took our donations inside. I did not
anticipate that there would be animals up front! I thought – surely we can get out of here without seeing any of the potential pets. I was wrong! There were some ADORABLE black fluffy puppies in a crib up
front. I was so tempted to get one, and the kids were petting them and loving on them. I told them that dad would kill me if I brought home another dog right now, and they understood. So I let them pet the puppies a little longer than planned. Madison and Tyler posed with the puppies. I explained to the kids that these puppies would not be here long and would find homes in no time. They all smiled.
I must say – it was a great idea, and they all learned that an animal shelter is a great place to find a new friend or to help a friend in need. Great idea, Cole!
It’s so great to see you blogging again! We are starting on our journey and have delivered cookies to our firefighters and sponsored a child from Uganda through World Vision. Thank you for your stories they really do spur me on!
~Jen