Season of Giving

Today we had a trip to the mall. Micah, Quinn and I went shopping to find some clothes to wear for our family picture.

During this time of year, we often see people standing by popular doors ringing bells. How many times do we really stop and talk to those people? How many times have I walked by looking at the floor or trying to move my feet faster so I can get past them quicker?

This morning, as we walked to the doors of the mall, I heard the bells. I knew that I had some change in my pocket and was ok with giving that change to the red kettle. It was pretty cold outside today and having a baby in the cold is not always fun. Micah was trying to walk as fast as he could because he was cold and I was trying to push the stroller (and Micah) as fast as we could go. We got closer to the doors of the store and the men ringing the bells were nice enough to open the doors for me. How can I not give money now?

Micah was very excited about the people inside the doors ringing the bells. I showed Micah the money that was in my pocket and asked him if he wanted to put it in the pot. I don't know if he was more excited about having some money in his hand or if he was just happy about the moment. What he said next shocked me but then helped me remember that he is 2.

Micah said, "What do I do with this?"

I forgot that Micah is only 2 and he doesn't have any memory of the bell ringers standing at the storefronts during the holiday season. This was a new memory for him and I was glad that I could be there to make this a good tradition for him.

Not only did Micah get to put the money in the red pot but he also got to ring the bell. He was more interested in how the bell worked rather than ring it but he still thought it was pretty neat that he was the one to get to hold it.

Sidney has been such a good girl lately that I wanted to also get her something nice as a gift. I told her that after we are done shopping, we were going to get something special. She is starting to get very girly and want all sorts of frilly things. She has one necklace that she wears once in awhile to school. This necklace is wood with a yellow string that is similar to one that Chris has. They both are of a fish and she always puts hers on when she sees dad wearing his. Tonight, I wanted to get her a necklace that she could wear to our family picture.

While we were at Target, she wanted to look at every single necklace. Yes, we looked at every single necklace in the jewelry department. We were there for quite awhile but we did find a great piece of jewelry for her that suits her very well. It is silver and has a heart pendant...very cute, very Sidney.

She and I take a moment once in awhile to just do a girl thing. Once in awhile we go out to eat, sometimes we go shopping and someday we will get a pedicure together.

One little quirk that she has is that she loves to pick up things outside and bring them in the house. She used to just put these things on the counter and we soon had a counter full of stuff from outside. Right now, we have three ziploc bags on the counter...one has leaves in it that has these bump things on them (She thinks that they will turn into butterflies). Another one has acorns in them. Another one has a feather in it. At times, I am afraid to put my hand in her coat pocket because I never know what creation is going to touch my fingers.