Friday Foto Fiesta..Giving thanks at Christmas

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It's Friday, It's Friday, Thank Goodness it's Friday!!!
YIPPEE!
I'm playing Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish again this week .So after you're done here, go over there and check out who's playing this week!!!

This weeks photo is inspired by my new friend over at The Cottage Cafe' & her post My Heartfelt Thanks
Since becoming a mom, I have tried to look for ways to show my children what the Christmas Spirit is all about... We have adopted families in need... Dane has gone with me to serve Christmas dinner to the homeless... but one of the best experiences I /we have had was a
few Christmas' ago...
My brother & sisters & their families gathered at my parents home in Kansas City...we invited soldiers from a nearby Army base to celebrate Christmas Eve with our family .... Just come over & hang out, so that they wouldn't be stuck on base without their family & friends.


My mother had a friend married to a Sgt... on base, so she invited them plus whoever else wanted to come along.... 8 soldiers showed up...

We had the best time with these "kids". We ate..we drank..we played games , we were Merry... we embraced the true meaning of the Christmas Spirit.

As the night progressed, the soldiers admitted that they weren't really sure what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to come over to my parents house...

they thought they were going to go visit an old lady with a lot of cats or something... (to brighten her day.. & to have an excuse to get off base...)

We had a good laugh about that. We had such a good time with all of these soldiers.. they came back the next day to spend Christmas with us. They brought Army caps & t-shirts for all of the big kids... (5 year olds..) who thought that was SOOO cool.

This is one of my all time favorite Christmas memories & one I doubt my son will ever forget. I hope these brave soldiers , where ever they may be, will reflect upon that Christmas with good memories as well....

Thank you to all of the brave men & women serving all of us...

Comments

Unknown said…
Aww, good pic and post :) Love the guys holding the babies!
October 10, 2008 at 4:49 PM
That Girl said…
How wonderful! When I was single and in the Army at Ft. Campbell, I was on duty one Thanksgiving and couldn't go home for the holiday. I was invited to spend Thanksgiving dinner with a family and remember it to this day (it was 14 years ago).
October 10, 2008 at 5:06 PM
Khadra said…
What a nice thing to do :) And a good lesson and experience for your children!
October 10, 2008 at 5:20 PM
Susie said…
What a great way to say "Thank you for your Service". That is part of the real meaning of Christmas:-)
October 10, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Frizzy said…
You ROCK! What a great idea and way to share. My girlfriends and I are not exchanging gifts this year. Instead, we're sending packages to our soldiers serving overseas. You made me all teary this morning!
October 10, 2008 at 5:40 PM
Jen Sue Wild said…
This bought tears to my eyes. This is a long standing tradition in our home since I was a child. My parents invited the airman seaman over for what ever Holidays. A tradition thats Been carried down to my children.
I am so glad that you strive so hard to keep the Christmas spirit alive for your children and there is no better way than serving others . What a good mom you are..
October 10, 2008 at 5:42 PM
Allison said…
I bet it was a great time had by all!!! I love hearing about moments like these!
October 10, 2008 at 6:27 PM
Frizzy said…
Thanks for the picture. I may ask for your signature so I can somehow copy it to the back of the photo when I hang it up. You are so sweet thank you.
October 10, 2008 at 6:37 PM
scargosun said…
That is just one of the best things I have ever heard in my life.
October 10, 2008 at 6:51 PM
Unknown said…
Not having anything to do with the military other than the few 100 I dated in highschool... (huh Kelly..Song for whoever??) We were all a bit nervous... afraid they would think we were indeed weirdos or something... but it meant alot to them... & just as much to us... like I said one of the best christmas' we have ever had... I need to think of something meaningful for this year... any ideas?
October 10, 2008 at 7:24 PM
Jen said…
that is a great photo and a great idea.
October 10, 2008 at 8:09 PM
Kori said…
Oh what an awesome gift to give them. Love the post. And the pics are priceless.
October 10, 2008 at 8:21 PM
JWilson said…
Whata great story and such a nice thing to do for those that keep us safe.
October 10, 2008 at 9:07 PM
Shelle-BlokThoughts said…
Wow that is really cool! :) We once bought Christmas for a family...it was great to do that with the kids and I had a good time feeling like I was doing SOMETHING good!
October 10, 2008 at 9:12 PM
Kristen Andrews said…
what great pics and what smiles!
October 10, 2008 at 10:30 PM
Miz Dinah said…
What an awesome thing to do. That really warms my heart.
October 10, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Anonymous said…
I love your pictures. I hope you don't mind me adding you to my favs. I think it is so interesting the difference between the States and Norway. I love your Christmas spirit and the pics you took are beautiful! Thanks for leaving a comment. You must have been tired after replying to all the comments.
Cheryl
October 10, 2008 at 11:28 PM
WheresMyAngels said…
That brought tears to my eyes! What a wonderful idea and gift to them! Great photo's and story! Although if their would of been lots of cats that would of been good too! I love Cat lady stories!
October 11, 2008 at 12:02 AM
Ronda's Rants said…
I love this!!! I think this is one of the nicest things I have heard of anyone ever doing! Thank you for making my day!
:)
October 11, 2008 at 1:41 AM
KimmyJ said…
Awww, thanks for linking up to my blog. You are a sweetie. What a wonderful thing to do, I got a lump in my throat seeing all those precious little ones surrounded by camoflauge.
October 11, 2008 at 2:16 AM
Anna Lefler said…
Oh, I LOVE this! That's a wonderful idea...and truly the spirit of Christmas. You've inspired me to look for opportunities like this in the upcoming holiday season...

:^) Anna
October 11, 2008 at 3:31 AM
Ann said…
This is very lovely idea! I wish there were more people like you in the world!
October 11, 2008 at 7:21 AM
SabrinaT said…
How wonderful for you! They will remember it forever I am sure. Every year we have the sailors that can not get home over. My house is packed with sailors from Thanksgiving-New Years.
October 11, 2008 at 3:56 PM
Real Live Lesbian said…
What an amazing thing to do! They do such a fabulous service for us.

Great story! Great pics!

I'm all warm and fuzzy now! ;)
October 11, 2008 at 6:35 PM
Kelly said…
I can't even imagine the sarcastic comments you had to endure this holiday!!!

That was so sweet of your Mom & Dad to do this...have they continued to do this on a yearly basis?
October 11, 2008 at 7:28 PM
Anonymous said…
What a great idea and great pics. That is one of the kindest things I've heard of for the holidays. You kind of made me cry.....
October 11, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Cristin said…
That's the coolest thing ever...
October 12, 2008 at 3:27 AM
LuckyMe said…
How cool is that! You are an inspiration, a bright spot amid all the turmoil. Thanks for sharing!
October 12, 2008 at 11:01 PM
Shannon said…
What an AWESOME thing to do for our soldiers!
October 14, 2008 at 6:11 AM
My Two Army Brats said…
We always try to take in some single soldiers on holidays. We live on post of course so there's always some. This year we'll be celebrating the holidays as situationally single mom's without our husbands but we'll smile and make it through. At least we'll have our kiddo's and the daddys will only have one another in the desert miserable. Sad.

I'm glad your family reached out.
October 15, 2008 at 5:37 AM
Tara said…
Wow, what an amazing thing to do and a wonderful way to show the kiddos what Christmas is really all about!
October 17, 2008 at 2:34 PM
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