kicking off the Christmas Season...

This past weekend really put me into the Christmas spirit. On Friday night I went with my mom and her friend Cindy to East Valley Bible Church ( www.evbc.org ) for their Christmas Musical. It was a real treat to hear the Christmas story through songs sung by the music team and also the children's group.

On Saturday morning I volunteered to help the Gilbert Boys & Girls Club at the new Mervyns in Gilbert. Mervyn's donated enough money for about 30 of the children to go on a shopping spree for themselves. Each child was paired up with a volunteer to go through the store and spend their money. I was matched up with a 7 yr old girl named Jasmine. We had a fun time picking out new clothes and shoes for her to wear to school. We were the last ones to finish, but we got a lot of great new things for her to wear this winter. It was fun spending time with her and I know I need to volunteer like that more often. After the first of the year I would like to start volunteering at the B&G Club once a week. I miss the interaction with kids and feel like that would give me just the "fix" I need.

On Sunday a group of us went to the movies to see "The Nativity". It was a good representation of what happened and the real reason for the season. Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in all of the decorations, shopping, gifts, cookie making, and parties that we forget what Christmas is all about. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone that hasn't seen it yet.

After the movie, Ben and I went to dinner and then went to look at Christmas lights on Cherry St. They do such a wonderful job each year decorating the entire street with lights. I love to drive down that street at least once a year while listening to Christmas music.

What a fun way to start off the season!

Merry Christmas