Now we are playing.  The other night the boys and I went to McDonalds in our pjs then came home and had a picnic on the living room floor.  N spilled chocolate milk on the carpet and that reminded me of why we don't do this more often.  I realized that maybe play is as easy as doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways?  Like spirit week at school or camp.  Is everything more fun if you're doing it backwards?  Maybe the point is that play doesn't have to be some elaborate planned thing.  Maybe the joy is in the spontaneity and simpleness of it.  However I'll also point out that my elf plans are getting more and more elaborate, as of yesterday they included having them arrive on a herd of pink hippos.  But the real thing with the elves is that I want them to challenge my boys to be more kind.  I was inspired by a blog about a family that counted down the days until Christmas by doing random acts of kindness; cool stuff like leaving quarters taped to candy machines and candy canes taped to ATMs.  Kindness instead of the chocolate advent calendar thing or instead of all the very cute looking calendars on Pinterest.  And this brings up what I really want to talk about:  Good works/service opportunities and Christmas.  I want to teach my kids to give and to serve.  Maybe my kids are just the proxy for me.  Not maybe, I "know" they are.  It's my own restlessness, my own wanting to think outside the box, get outside my comfort zone and DO stuff for others.  We are church shopping again.  It seems to be an annual tradition here, some people go Black Friday shopping we go church shopping.  On our list of things we're looking for (yes, I know we're never going to find a perfect church, we're not expecting to and NO we're not leaving our current churches because they're not perfect) is a church that has regular, church based service opportunities.  Not para ministries that operate out of the church but actual ministries of the church.  And yes, I am very, very, very, well aware that I don't need a ministry of the church to do good works.  I know that, and I think I'm finally willing to act on it.  I have stuff lined up on Volunteer Match as we speak.  But I don't just want the easy stuff.  Operation Christmas Child; easy.  I should know we threw a whole party for it a year ago.  Getting my kids to donate their used toys to a charity is easy.  It's easy to give away stuff when you know that you're getting something better.  I think the last time around I told you the story of grandma asking her daughter to give up new toys; that's my harder.  No, we're not going to do that but it brings up the point of sacrificial giving.  What my husband calls the "doctrine of the lesser good."  Donating used toys is an example of doing stuff that makes US feel good but it's an easy out.  I want to challenge my kids and myself to do really good things.  Things that may be uncomfortable for them, may be messy but things that really..........I don't want to say make a difference or matter but........  So I'm praying that God directs us to what he wants us to do    Annnnnnnnd at the same time I want my kids to understand the importance of little things you don't have to do big things to make a difference in peoples lives.  I want to teach them to never underestimate the importance of a kind word.  I want them to see how good manners are a form of kindness, so is sharing.  Can small things be done sacrificially?  Stay tuned!