Eli's Heart

I know it keeps coming up, the kids' heart 'conditions', that is, but we've had some moments lately. And as much as I wish sometimes that Eli would care more about his sister and friends in moments of unexpected hurt feelings or physical discomfort, what I've seen out of him in quiet moments this month blows me away.

About a month ago I started talking to the kids about Christmas gifts. We talked about why we celebrate, and why we may want to give other people gifts, even though it's a birthday for Jesus, not us. The main point of our conversation was for me to get the kids thinking about what the friends and family in their life might find joy in. I reminded them that they've seen me working on knitting projects and photo projects for our family, because I was trying to make something that they'd enjoy and remember. Also we talked about how most of our friends and family have so many things that they don't really need 'stuff'. So we brainstormed some ways to give. It came up that people like Pkemei, the little boy we sponsor in Kenya, would enjoy anything we could get for him: clothing, toys, books, blankets... But people like our Grandparents and friends at school already have all of those things, so something handmade, some time spent together, or something picked out that signifies a bond would be a better choice. Then I told them that we wouldn't be buying anything for at least another week: I asked them to think about the people they would be giving to and what those people would cherish.

Eli had already made a gift for both Grandmothers at school, he made something for Grandpa Ed and Sandy in Art, and we'd made small magnet crafts for most of our friends already. For the remaining gifts, Eli and I set out on a Saturday with him leading the way. We went to Target first because he really wanted to get Maddux a Hello Kitty toy. He didn't know specifically what, but he knows how much she loves Hello Kitty, so he was set on something in that arena. What he picked out was perfect; she loves it and has already misplaced the pieces several times due to overuse.

Originally he wanted to get Lehr a Christmas Tree shirt (because he doesn't have one), however, no holiday shirts for men were to be found. Midway through our Target run he found a replacement Christmas themed gift, which was great. But my most favorite thing was what he thought of on the drive to Target. From the back seat I heard, "MOM!! I know what I need to get Daddy! A drum key, cuz he lost his!" Apparently the previous time they'd worked on drums together, Lehr found himself without a key; it had been misplaced. I thought it was so cool that Eli remembered that and realized that was something that Lehr definitely needs and would value. So even though it added another store in our errand list, in the totally wrong direction of course, to the drum store we went.

The final gift that Eli chose was for Grandpa Jim. While my parents visited over Thanksgiving, Grandpa took Eli ice skating. When I asked Eli what he wanted to get for Grandpa Jim, he immediately told me, "A hockey ice skater ornament." As cool as that sounds, we couldn't find exactly that. In fact, for the longest time we couldn't find any kind of ice skating or hockey ornament at all. Finally, the day after we mailed out our gifts, we found a solitary ice skate ornament hanging randomly in a Target store.

Eli really enjoyed wrapping all of the gifts he picked out, especially the drum key for Daddy. He wrapped it in a large box full of Lincoln Logs, to try and trick him. When I put Eli to bed on Christmas night, I asked him what his favorite gift was that he gave and without hesitation he told me "Daddy's drum key", with a HUGE smile on his face. I think Eli really enjoyed the giving part of this holiday season.