I Received a New Family for the Holidays
And I’m so happy!! Wait, that didn’t come out right. I, Single Ma, did not get a new “biological” family – although that would be nice too LOL – but I exchanged my randomly assigned “adopted” family for a new one. I struggled with the idea, but I finally decided to call the agency and tell them I wasn’t happy with the family I received. Within minutes, I received a fax with a list of family profiles to choose from. This is how it was done in previous years and I prefer it this way. I have no idea why the process really changed and no idea why it was so easy to switch back, but they didn’t ask any questions and I didn’t either. At first, I felt really bad. But 0.5 seconds after choosing my new family for the holidays, the negative feelings disappeared.
This family speaks English. A single mom with 5 children in the home. Two young adults, but she has 3 little ones: 1 boy and 2 girls between the ages of 7 and 13. Their wish list is still pretty vague (games, sports stuff, baby dolls, etc.) but more in line with what I expect from children. So I called the mom to learn a little bit more about their likes/dislikes.
- The boy is a die hard Redskins fan. He was quarterback on his football team and named MVP when they won the championship this year. He loves skateboarding too. Mr. EC is going to take care of him. He has season tickets and mentioned taking the boy to a Redskins game. How cool is that?!
- The youngest girl is having trouble reading. She likes Bratz and Hannah Montana. What little girl doesn’t? She’ll be easy.
- The older girl is into makeup and jewelry. Oh, how I remember those days. She also loves singing in the mirror with a brush. A BabyGirl repeat. Shopping for her will be fun!!
Now I need to make my Santa list. I want to buy each child an outfit, something fun, something educational for the little one, and something for the entire family to do together. My focus is on the children, but if I’m feeling generous, the mom and two oldest girls might get something too.
My first order of business is helping them with food for Thanksgiving. My friend’s church is having a Share Food Network drive, so I’m donating money to the church in exchange for a food basket. The option I chose includes a 10-12 lb turkey, a whole chicken, ground turkey, elbow macaroni, stuffing mix, broccoli, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, peppers, onions, apples, and oranges. All of that for $35!! Great deal, huh? I’ll probably throw in a grocery store gift card so she can pick up other staples and goodies too.
Let the holiday season begin.
I’z ready now!! :-)
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This is so wonderful of you! You will continually be blessed.
Awesome! I’m glad they were able to find a better suited family for you. I’m sure they’ll be extremely happy and grateful with your generosity.
I’m really inspired and humbled by your generosity doing this. Christmas is always such a tight time for me just buying for my family and friends, but someday I would like to sponsor a family as well.
That sounds great. This will be as great as previous years. What a fantastic thing to do with BabyGirl and to do for your community.
Hi SM, I am so glad you got to pick your own family.
I got an idea for you, if you want to get something for the older two girls-Amazon.com
( I am not affiliated), sells items from the company called Canada Soap and Candle. They have this cool body and bath stuff, and you know-you buy over $25-shipping is free. Some items not only packaged very attractively, they also have these delicious names like Double Chocolate Rasberry Truffle, etc. Some come in the package of 2 for like $14-$19 and if you buy two of body butter or body cream and two of body wash or whatever you want, then split them into two gift bags-you got two nice gift bags with value under $20 each.
Just a thought if you want something for the older two girls-this way not one of them would feel slighted in any way.
Awwww. Our department at work will be “adopting” orphans for Christmas. I think we will be doing between 5-7 orphans. The guys are opting to just had us their monetary donations while the girls go out on a scheduled “shop” day and get everything off the kids wish list. I can’t wait.
You have definitely inspired me. I have been thinking about it and I think I will also sponsor a family on my own. I was fortunate to be a part of a similar program one Christmas in college. Roughest time of my college life….couldn’t even pay my rent that December.
Anyways it is definitely time to give back. This may set back my plan to be cc debt free by February but I am fine with it. Lord knows that if it wasn’t for Him and the little blessings that came my way, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Thanks for the inspiration chica. You know you my Shero right??
:-)
I’ve been on the other side so I, too, know how it feels to get assistance around the holidays. Now that I can afford to give back, adopting a family is one of the main things I look forward to every year. [-SM]
OMG…this sounds like so much fun!!! I think I will have to do something like this when I’m able to. I remember when I was younger my youth group at church would have a christmas “Toy Store” for the kids in the neighborhood. We would buy a bunch of toys, set them up in like little aisles, and give the kids play money to “purchase” the toys. The were allowed to pick anything they wanted and got up to 4 gifts each. It was wonderful and I loved how happy the kids were and also how happy the parents were. I will never forget those christmases.
PS. Ask Mr. EC if he can slide some of those Redskin tickets over here. I’m so jealous! I know he will be enjoying the game tonight…LOL.
Yes, he’s there tonight. I’ve been hearing about the Redskins vs. Cowboys game all week and I’m about sick of it. LOL [-SM]
I am sooo loving this! I’ve wanted to do something similar but on a much smaller scale, becuase I’m a student with low $$, but after reading this I realized a $10 gift card to Wal-mart or somewhere similar can still help out and put a smile on their face and warmth in their heart!! Thanks for the update!
Every gesture counts, no matter how small. ;-) [-SM]
You inspire me to be a better person because of your amazing heart. I love what you’ve done to change your life and I hope God continues to bless you abundantly.
The part-time gig also has an adopt a family program each holiday season. I will be contributing to it this year. It is always good to count your blessings and pay it forward.
That is so sweet there are not to many people like you that is that kind. It is so nice to have caring people in the world. My youngest son was born almost one year ago with esophageal atresia a and down syndrome and this is going to be our first christmas home out of the hospital and im so excited . I wish you the best and god bless you and your family.
Way to go Single ma, I love charity, I especially love it when you are there to actually make a difference. There is a real connection, not some random put money in a bucket and pray that it get there
I’m glad you were able to switch families. Giving should feel good and that other family didn’t feel right.
Did your boy Cry as much as i did after watching last night’s Skins game? *tear*
I’ve been giving in another capacity, but it’s been to an organization. I think it might be nice to give on a personal level – I just contacted a friend who works with kids in a group home to see if there’s a way I can make the holidays special for someone there… it’s b/c you’ve inspired me, Single Ma. There. There’s my holiday present to you – to let you know you paid it forward!
This is so nice and generous of you. I am going to make it a point when I am financially stable to share what I have with others also, it’s so important especially during holiday time when not having things can be sad for little ones.
Are they a black family?
Wow, really? You ditched the other family? Is there more backstory – like, could the agency tell you any more about who actually lived with the family and what their needs were that might have explained the 3 adults and the requests for gift cards?
You said in your first post on the subject – on cheerful giving – that you believe everything happens for a reason. So what was the reason here? You also said that the agency indicated that they were changing the system because some families were never chosen. Do you think you were paired with this other family perhaps because you have a history of selfless giving and they figured they could count on you were they couldn’t count on anyone else?
It also makes me raise an eyebrow when the language spoken by the previous family seems to have been cause for concern about the legality of the family’s living here (in the comments section, not the main post) as well as – horror – the thought that maybe there was another adult there, like an elderly person, because they can’t need help either.
All in all, especially in the comments – this topic seems to veer into uncomfortable land a whole lot.
I hope someone else picks that other family.