I consider myself and my family very grateful to have a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, books to read, and a few extras for bonuses. I want my children to understand how lucky they are to be blessed with good health and families that love them above all.
I would like to share with you a little story that goes back to my teenage years. When I was a teenager, I was diagnosed with Endometriosis. If you are not familiar with it, it is a disease where the lining of the uterus grows where it shouldn't, often on the ovaries and outside the uterus. Sorry dads, TMI.
As a teenager, I was told that the likelihood of being able to have children out of my womb was slim to none. When I was in my mid 20's, I had a surgery that would help clear some of the Endometriosis as a hope for the future, but nothing was a guarantee. I met my husband on Match.com! Yes, we could do a commercial... LOL
One of the requirements I had when I was looking for a life partner was that he would have to consider adoption as an alternative to natural children. My husband said it was a consideration and we met and got married. 3 months after our honeymoon, I found myself very sick to my stomach and felt scared to test.
I tested when he was at work so I wouldn't disappoint him if it was negative. It wasn't! While we were expecting to have to foster or adopt, a little miracle was growing inside me. 1 year after we were married, we brought my son home from the hospital. 2 years and 12 days later, our daughter was born! We had 2 miracle babies, ones we had never dreamt of from endless tests.
While we never ending up going the foster or adoption route, it has always been in the back of my mind. I was approached by a company that I have worked with in the past, Branding Personality, asking if my family wanted to help decorate and put together presents for foster children that might not have a nice Christmas otherwise.
We never hesitated! I took this opportunity to gather my little miracles and teach them to help unselfishly. While at the moment, we are unable to foster any children of our own, I love the idea of helping children in need.
We met at the Co-Working and Play offices to get down to some serious holiday fun and cheer. There was dinner provided for us by the OC Burger Monster and it was a big hit by all of us!
The room was decorated for the holidays and put us in a happy mood. The boxes we were to decorate held small items such as clothing and toys for children in foster care in Orange County. We had wrapping paper, scissors, glue, glitter, stickers and more to make their presents extra special and personalized.
My daughter was so proud of her Snowman box for her little 5 year old foster girl that she had chosen. This craft was simple and made the present come to life! I know there will be a smile when she sees it on Christmas Day!
My son chose to make mountain scene as the sun shines brightly while snowflakes start to fall. His 8 year foster boy will get a kick out of the personalized note that he hid within the present.
Our group decorated about 30 presents that night which equaled to at least 15 smiles from all involved. I wish I could hand deliver the gifts to the children ourselves.
I urge your Boy Scout/ Girl Scout/ 4H groups/ and classrooms to step up to the plate and help an organization for families in need. It can be as simple as picking up a couple extra cans of food when you shop or a blanket or outfit to be given to those in need.
The organization that benefited from our get together last week was the The organization was the Orange County Foster Care Auxiliary. http://www.fostercareaux.com/ 714 778-3383,
Email: fostercareaux@yahoo.com.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and please take time to reflect on while our lives may be challenging at times, there are always others that have it worse.
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