The Great Christmas Give-away

So, the 2nd annual Great Christmas Give-away went off without a hitch this morning. At 9am we opened the doors of our church to around 1,000 needy people (we had about 350 last year)...at noon we walked out with the church back in order and ready for service tomorrow! What and amazing bunch of members we have.

As each of our guest walked in they received a razorback bag and 20 tickets. The tickets were to be used as their "money" to purchase...
these home decor items...

and these baby items...

and these toys...

and these toys...

and these purses...

and these Christmas items...

and these stuffed toys...

and these new Adidas shoe...

and these clothes...and this jewelry...

I took this pic from the sound booth...it gives you a better idea of just how many items the amazing people of our church and community donated.

When we arrived at 7:30 this morning there was already a line of people waiting to get in.

My sweet boys were up bright and early, ready to serve others. (ok, Boston was not so bright, but he did end running a fever tonight so he's excused) They helped me with the large items give-away. We had this living room set, an electric guitar Jo built himself, an air hockey table, a dining room set, 10 computers and a tv cabinet.

My amazing husband worked his butt off the last month collecting over $3,000 in gift cards and prizes from businesses all over NWA.

All 3 boys got to help daddy give away some of the gift cards.

Remember the picture of the empty room??? Well, here it is once some of the shoppers got going!

this was the room at around 11.

And this was all that was left by noon. Literally! Those boxes were it. (This is Pam, the totally amazing lady who did all the "heavy lifting" when it came to getting the give-away off the ground this year.)

What an amazing privilege to have the opportunity to serve others. I was moved to tears so many times as people shared their stories today. I was reminded over and over again of just how blessed I truly am. I may be wondering how to pay for Christmas this year, but the fact of the matter is...I know I'll be able to...that's more than a lot can say this year.