So glad he really doesn't understand

Service and sacrifice for others is a concept I feel very strongly about teaching my children. But it is also complicated, and I'm kind of at a loss about how to do it. I want them to realize how lucky they are.

So I was really excited when our church announced a big project they are doing next month. We will be collecting items and assembling welcome kits for battered women and children's shelters in the area.

Details here: http://wellsserves.blogspot.com/ Anyone is invited. COME HELP!

Especially needed are comfort items for the kids who have usually had to leave all their possessions behind. I was thinking the kids could help me put some quilts together and gather toys and games.

Especially if the quilts are made out of adorable fabric like this,

they will really brighten someone's day AND be a little hard for my kids to give up.

Of course, this means I have to explain to them why there are children in shelters who need our help.

First let me say this:

Dearest Husband, Thank you for being the best man I have ever known. Thank you for being so kind and gentle that my children have no concept of being afraid in their own home. That when they think of a bad guy, the only thing they can picture are cartoon characters. I love you more than words can say.

This afternoon I had the following conversation with my five-year-old.

Me: "Their homes weren't safe. So they had to go away with their mommies really fast."

Him: "Why weren't they safe?"

Me: "Sometimes there are bad people who want to hurt other people. They had to get away."

Him: "So they are hiding?"

Me: "Yes."

Him: "But when the bad guys leave they can go home."

Me: "No. The bad guys are people they know. People who won't go away."

Him: "But the bad guys have to go home sometime."

Me: "Sometimes the bad guy is the dad of the family. And he isn't nice to the mom and kids. And they can't go home."

Him: "Like animals? How the daddy tiger or bear would hurt the cubs?"

Me: "Yes. Exactly like animals."