Pinediscs!

Light the World with Joy

This year we are participating in an event for our church called Light the World. Each day from December 1st through December 25th we do a kind act of service as a family or individually to bring JOY to another person's life. On December 9th the challenge was to give JOY to the lonely. We have a retirement home right around the corner from where we live. The boys brought some of their ornaments to this home and handed them out. There was a trio of old men who particularly enjoyed interacting with our 4 boys. They even sang along with us as we sang a few Christmas carols. It was a true JOY to see our boys give these wonderful people ornaments and then to watch them hang the ornaments on the tree. 

Our pride, and most of all, our JOY!

The Petereson's Christmas Trees

The pine-discs were so popular that we ran-out! We made 100 pine-cone ornaments, 100 acorn ornaments, and 100 pine-disc ornaments. We realized that we needed more because the pine-discs sold the fastest! Jason had the idea to go to a local Christmas-tree lot here where we live. We found Peterson's Christmas Trees and told them about the Giving Tree Project, and they went above and beyond to help us out. Not only did they give us more lodge-pole pine to make more pine-disc ornaments, but they even decorated a tree with the ornaments and sold them for us! We are so so grateful for generous people like the Petersons! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here the boys are at Peterson's Christmas Trees hanging up their ornaments to sell.

The Peterson's had a fire and hot-coco to share with their customers...such a fun place to go to buy your Christmas Tree!

We love the Christmas season and love to go looking at lights. This is a pond near where we live, lit with spectacular trees!

Selling door-to-door

The boys worked hard preparing for the first day of selling their ornaments door-to-door on November 16th. Our friend from our co-op was the first to make a donation, buying 15 ornaments! She made this beautiful display with the pine-cones, pine-discs, and acorns.

Here are the boys working on even more ornaments. Spreading glitter-glue on all of the pine-discs helped them to sparkle! We have the cutest elves!

Here the boys are selling the ornaments to our friendly neighbors.

And a huge thank you, to everyone who purchased our homemade ornaments and donated towards The Giving Tree Project. Jaky Loves hearts and we Love you!

Working on making the ornaments

Here the boys are sanding the pine-discs on the belt-sander our bishop let us borrow. Thank you, Bishop! We really need to get one of these!

Dad and Luke drilling holes in the pine-discs.

Isaac bringing the pine-discs in ready to be threaded with twine.

Sanded, holes are drilled, twine is threaded....now it's time to add snowflakes, stars, trees, and snow-men with the wood-burner.

Ezra wood-burning snowman faces on the pine-discs.

Jaky spreading the glitter-glue on the pine-disc ornaments.

 Here are some of our home-made finished Christmas ornaments ready to be sold. This year we have pine-discs, pine-cones, and acorns to sell.

Aren't these the cutest little ornaments?!

Our basket of pine-disc ornaments ready to be sold! And I spy an Ezra behind the basket of ornaments :)

 Here are the boys are happy and ready to make the video for year 3 of The Giving Tree Project.

The Giving Tree Project 2016

Working hard!

The Giving Tree Project is such a great tool to teach the boys about working hard, being creative, and giving to those in need. The boys spent 2 hours today knocking on doors selling their ornaments. The boys are only $25 shy of their $200 goal. They will then choose clothes and toys for children who live with their mothers at a homeless shelter here in Utah. Thank you to all who have donated so far, and we hope you enjoy your ornaments! Merry Christmas!!!