Ice Skates and Toe Shoes

It's Christmas so I guess I shouldn't be surprised by stories of kindness and generosity but I was seriously surprised by this one...mostly because it was kindness and generosity towards our family that caught me off guard. Several weeks ago Bob told me that he really wanted to take the kids to a Red Wings game. We don't know how much longer we'll be in Michigan and since Joe Louis Arena is pretty old Bob said you never know if they might decide to build a new home for the Red Wings. Personally, I don't understand why it might be meaningful for our children to be able to say that they saw a Detroit Red Wings game at THE JOE...but these types of things are important to Bob (and probably one of those things that this girl will never understand anyway). So when we went to buy tickets for a game they were a little on the expensive side and since we are unemployed at this time I was wondering if it was the best decision to go to a game now. At one point Bob suggested that this be our Christmas present to the family. At the time I was appalled at the suggestion! Thinking that would be a good present for Bob...but not so much for the rest of us. But shortly after that I had a conversation with a dear friend and she told me that if Bob thought this should be our Christmas then I should go with it and make it the BEST RED WINGS CHRISTMAS EVER! My first thought was that she was crazy! But about a week later a large package arrived at our house. The note inside explained that the story spread of a family who wanted to have a Red Wings Bash for Christmas but wasn't able to do so because of finances and generous people opened their closets and their wallets and the result was the contents of the box that was before me. In the box I found 4 red wings sweatshirts for the kids, a red wings hoodie for me, red wings pom poms, press on tattoos, a puck, a little zamboni, Red Wings calendar, cookies with red m&m's, Red Wings silly bands, and so much more! I could not believe it! Why would people do this for us??? It almost felt bad to accept...we didn't deserve this kindness. But I guess that's the best part about the generosity of others...it's usually unmerited. Amazing!
So the Red Wings Christmas was on! Friday we picked up the kids from school early. When they got home they found presents under the tree and they were so happy to know that they got to open them right away. They were giggling and screaming and bouncing all around with excitement about our Red Wings Christmas! We hit the road for Detroit sporting our new Red Wings gear. We got to hang out at Hockeytown before the game which was fun.



When it was finally time for the game we had to be a little creative with our seats to see the action. You see we had gotten the cheapest tickets we could and they happened to be the very last row in the arena and they were obstructed view seats. However, we found that if we stood on them we could see the game. The kids had a blast cheering on our Red Wings.

Bob of course made friends with all the people sitting around us and Josiah even got in on that and moved down a row and sat with the folks in front of us. The Red Wings made it all worth it by pulling off a 4 to 2 win!

Oh and on the way out...an usher handed Josiah a puck that was used in the game. He was speechless for about a minute but as we exited the arena he was holding his puck up high and telling everyone we passed that he got a puck and it was used! It's his new favorite treasure.
I had a little bit of a bad attitude at first about this whole Red Wings Christmas business but in the end the children had an amazing time. They loved every minute. And they experienced the love and generosity of others. We will always remember this special game and maybe someday we can be the ones who help to make a special Christmas memory for another family. Thank you so much to everyone who made a contribution to our Red Wings box! We don't know your names but you were a blessing to us this Christmas!
As if that wasn't enough, the girls and I got to attend a performance of The Nutcracker on Saturday with our good friend Summer and her daughter Heidi. The girls and I have been going to see The Nutcracker at Christmas time for years, it's our girly, girl tradition and we love it. This time we didn't have to stand on our seats to see. In fact we had amazing seats, thanks to Summer! :)

So I have to say we had a truly amazing weekend filled with ice skates and toe shoes, blessings and friends! In financially tough times like these it might be understandable for a family to be a little down at Christmas....but we are full of gratitude and thanksgiving. For the wonderful blessings that others have bestowed upon us which in the tiniest way give us a glimpse of the amazing blessings that we have in Christ, who has given us every good thing!