Christmas Oranges

One other quick comment about our trip to Bethlehem Village earlier this week. There was a "homeless" woman sitting by the side of the walkway path near a campfire. We huddled around the fire to warm up a bit. While standing there, I couldn't help but hear the woman asking for food and assistance...I was curious to see if anyone would approach her. When no one did, I whispered to James that he should go over to her and wish her a Merry Christmas. He walked over to her, holding my hand, and began talking with her. The woman explained how many children she had and asked if James had ever been hungry. They chatted for a few minutes and said their goodbye's. A bit further down the path we found an area where they were making bread. James took a portion of bread and walked back to the homeless woman. He placed it in her basket and we moved on. It was quite sweet. As we pulled into the garage that night, James voluntarily mentioned that he felt the Spirit as he visited with the woman that night. I think it made an impression on him.

So Christmas Eve...Aunt Laurel purchased matching pajamas for all the kids:

She also purchased the book, Christmas Oranges, and asked that I read it to the kids on Christmas Eve. We followed her instructions precisely. The story is about sharing and the Christmas Spirit. To illustrate the moral of the story, Aunt Laurel also purchased 3 chocolate oranges...knowing there would not be enough for each of the kids. Here is Mark upset that he did not get a chocolate orange:

Then we read the story:

And Anya, James, and Peter demonstrating they understood the moral of the story:

It was a wonderful Christmas Eve! We can't believe it's over already. May we all share the blessings given to us so generously from our Father in Heaven. Merry Christmas!