The Spirit of Giving

To those of you who would normally be receiving something from us this Christmas – whether it be a card, a plate of home-baked goodies, a gift in the mail, or a trip to see you, we are sorry. This year we chose to do something a little different with our Christmas money, as I alluded to previously.

Neurotic as I am, I constantly worry about what-ifs and this year there seem to be quite a few people sharing my concerns. We have friends and family members with depleted retirement funds wondering what will happen if the market doesn’t come back. We have coworkers and acquaintances wondering what will happen if their company can no longer afford to pay wages. We know people with children on the way that are wondering what they will do when the bills come in the mail next month.

Suffering is everywhere, all the time. This year it took the form of a recession to let us know that none of us are immune to the ebbs and flows of the economic environment. In years past we have chosen angels off of Christmas trees, and contributed to company fundraisers. We have served food to the homeless, and tutored underprivileged youths. But this year it seemed important to Corey and I to help someone a little closer to home.

I will acknowledge that our adopt-a-family project didn’t go exactly as we had planned. After a deep breath we decided that there was a reason we were compelled to go down this path and we were going to do everything in our earthly power to make sure that someone else’s Christmas was a little merrier because we were involved.

So, we are happy to tell you that in lieu of the things I mentioned above, there is a family in our community that has warm coats for their children, Christmas presents under the tree, and some necessities that will hopefully take a bit of spending burden off of their shoulders in times to come.

Unfortunately we were not in the position to grant miracles, and I wish that there was more that we could do, and for more people. However, we really feel like each gift is wrapped with the thought behind it and we hope that when we deliver our packages tonight, on Christmas Eve, the family feels the joy and love that we have to spare in our family.

On Christmas morning when we are opening our gifts we will also make sure to spend a few moments thinking about the family, and about the two children in the Philippines that will be opening (technically they will have already opened due to the time difference) our Operation Christmas Child boxes and ask that they are blessed in the many ways our family is, none of which have to do with wealth or tactile prosperity.

I want to thank all of you for graciously accepting (whether consciously or unknowingly) the sacrifices we have made on your behalf to make these things happen for other people. I also want to note that while it is a little more stressful, shopping for Christmas presents on a budget creates a unique opportunity that I daresay I enjoyed. Chagrined, I think I spent about 20% of what I spent on Corey last year, and I am happy to note that there will be no discernible lack of presents or the Spirit of Christmas in our living room tomorrow morning.

We hope that all of you have a beautiful day tomorrow and that the spirit of the season extends long after the sun has set on Christmas 2008.

With Love,
Corey and Christina