[southern151]

Well, I decided to get a little jump start on shopping for the east side family. So far I bought them a $100 gift card to Payless Shoes, a $100 gift card to Lamendola's Grocery for anything non-alcohol/tobacco related and a $100 fuel card to a local gas station! Also, thanks to all the generosity of you guys, I was able to send Johnny $500 to start the shopping for our west side family! I really believe we will make this a great Christmas for these families!

I went to the east side family's house yesterday to let the boys shoot some guns and to try to pin Mom and Dad down on their Christmas plans. These are some great kids and parents!!!! I tell you though, while they don't have much, their family bond and spirit is unlike anything I've ever seen. They were so appreciative of me to, as they said, "take time out of my day" and let them boys shoot some of my rifles. I guess they didn't realize how much of what I was doing was for my personal enjoyment! LOL! I did have to let a little bit of our plans out of the bag to get them to be home Christmas Eve. I finally had to tell Dad that, "I need you to be home on the 24th. Trust me, you guys are going to love it!" While he looked at me kind of curiously, he consented so, we are set over here! That wasn't the approach I wanted to take but, I also didn't want Eman to show up with groceries to feed a small army and no one there to get them!

On a seperate note, after hearing what Mr. and Mrs. Eman are preparing for dinner, I think I may have to sneak in and eat with em! LOL

We're doing very well with this collection, ladies and gentlemen! Thanks to all who have contributed and, let's make a last push to help these very deserving families with whatever we can! There's a duck hunt for one lucky donor!

On a side note...When I got home last night, my lil boy was chanting, "What kind of pizza are you going to get us?!"...Over and over he asked this! Grrrrr! That's when it struck me that the kids we are helping have likely not asked this question in a long time and, damn, I've got it easy, as do my kids! It was a really humbling moment for me for whatever reason. As I stood there, looking around at the comforts of a nice home, a hungry boy dead set on eating Papa John's and the fact that my family doesn't need for anything, I was dang grateful! It was just a moment where ya look up to the sky and, give the Good Lord a wink and say, "Thank You!" Sorry to go on and on but, I felt compelled to share with you guys...

God Bless!