Happy St. Nicholas Day!

This was certainly not the week I had planned. Although I knew that I would be out of commission because of the chemo, I hadn't anticipated Amelia getting the stomach flu or Nathan ending up with a pretty serious cold. There are extra MD appts during chemo weeks and just more time management involved. There was just no way to get everything done and in some ways, I think this has been a good thing. For one thing, instead of the St. Nicholas Party that we had planned, we have focused more on Nathan's First Confession that happens tomorrow morning. I can tell that he is slightly anxious (weren't we all) about it and so the extra time talking about it has helped him.

Still, tonight as a family, we watched the St. Nicholas movie and talked about who he was and what his mission was. Once everyone was in bed (and asleep), I crawled out of my fetal position and got their treats ready. All three of them set out their shoes in front of the fireplace tonight.

Their St. Nicholas treats are usually very simple....new Christmas pj's and some chocolate coins. This year, I added some St. Nicholas Holy Cards and a Children's Brown Scapular.

Let me just take a moment to mention the "fake" log (duraflame box) over there on the right. First of all....this is FLORIDA! It might be December 5th and wintry to some of you out there in blogging land, however, it is currently 60 degrees here at this very moment!!! In order to start the fire, Dan had to lower the air conditioner so that we all didn't sweat to death! Here are some other photos:
Olivia got the snowman pajamas. She'll be so excited when she sees them!

Amelia got penguins (***I stand corrected...these apparently are "MONKEYS" and I must be blind!) this year...and unfortunately, Nathan got the short end of the stick!! It appears at this one particular large supermarket...they don't really carry "Christmas" PJ's for boys by the time they reach size 8. I knew I should have tried Target, but, Walmart is closer. So, he ended up with blue and green plaid pj bottoms and I just bought him a matching shirt.

It wasn't until I was getting the pictures ready for this post that I noticed a white piece of paper to the upper left of their shoes on the hearth. When I pulled it closer, I saw this drawing. Nathan has drawn the Nativity. When I opened the card....I saw this note:

It's probably a little hard to read, but his note says, "St. Nicolis, give this moeny to people who need it. love Nathan." To the right of the photo, there is about $2.00 in change that he had obviously taken out of his wallet and put inside the card. Dan and I just sat in amazement that he had done this. It seems that sometimes, he can be very self-centered and spoiled...so much so that I wonder what it is that I am doing wrong to have such a selfish child. And then, he can do things like this that totally blow my mind!

I think the day really wasn't a bust after all! Even through the routine of a typical post chemo day for me, God still brings blessings to our family. Tonight he brought it in the form of a special 8 year old boy who really does have a heart for God and others, even if it stays hidden a lot of the time.

Tomorrow we have Nathan's First Confession and his first basketball game.....it will be busy and I will be doing my best to keep up...but, I will be one proud mom!!