We have 150 shoeboxes ready to pack!

We have 150 clear plastic shoeboxes to pack!! These were found at Kroger in Lincoln for 15 cents a piece!!!! So, we now have all 150 boxes ready to decorate and pack. These boxes were on clearance for 90% off. If you are planning to pack a box (or more) with your family this year, there were still about 30 left at the Lincoln Kroger on the clearance tables outside. They are not marked but ring up as 15 cents! Other Krogers are also clearancing these out, so you may find them in Bloomington too. These are a great gift themselves as it gives the kids a place to keep their things that is safe from rain and such. Many of them live on the streets or in orphanages and do not have much except for these little boxes of gifts to remind them that someone loves them and they are not forgotten. Let's fill these 150 boxes with lots of toys, tools, personal care items, and prayers to show them that God loves them and to give them hope!

Too Much Parade Candy?

The Atlanta Fall Festival Parade was this weekend and they threw out A LOT of candy. My boys certainly got their fair share... and then some! So what do we do with the two giant bags full? I let the boys save a small bit because we don't let them eat candy very often. The rest goes into baggies and is placed in the Operation Christmas Child boxes. Any hard candy, gum, tootsie rolls, suckers, or other candy that won't melt can be put in the boxes. We do this at Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter too! And we still have more candy than my boys will eat in a year!

So, if your kids got a TON of candy at the parade and you don't know what to do with it all, let them pick out some of the candy that they don't like as much and allow them to fill a ziploc baggie to put in the shoeboxes. Sandwich or snack size ziploc bags work great. Chances are, they probably got so much that they won't even miss it!