This year it seemed that the displays for Operation Christmas Child were everywhere (which is a great thing). Since our budget is far from flexible and we had already committed our Christmas giving to other places, OCC was one we were just going to have to skip this year. This was not okay with Tristan. He announced that he had money in his dinosaur bank and he was going to make a box for a kid with no toys. Okay then, how do I say no to that? The afternoon that he announced this, he and Neil went out to spend some time together and I looked in his bank. Oh no... there was not going to be enough and I wanted this statement of giving to be a success. He is four and has no idea how much anything costs or how much money he actually had. I wanted all the change he took into the bank to be enough for his shopping, sooooo I dumped the family change jar out on the carpet and kept the twins busy for the afternoon stuffing the dino. A few days later, we emptied the dino bank and headed to the big bank. I wish I had remembered to snap a picture of him taking his change to exchange for paper money. He told the teller he hoped there was $100 in there, but when she came back with $33 he was okay with that, too.
We headed to Walmart and although I'm trying not to shop there, when it comes to budgets like this we compromised. Our first stop was to pick up a plastic shoebox. After spending some time in a third world country, I knew that making every part of this present usable is a valuable gift. More than likely this box will have to hold and protect all the possessions of the child who receives it. When I showed the box to Tristan he scoffed, walked further down the aisle saying, "That box is too little for everything. Let's get this one..." I love his heart!!!
I knew that T would be excited to pick out crayons and toys, but I had not expected that he would suggest snacks and was shocked when he INSISTED that this little boy needed underwear. I probably would not have thought of that and it makes me think the little boy this box is destined for will be super excited that he got underwear. It might be just what he was wanting.
I helped Tristan pack up his box and fill out a sheet of information about himself. He got to color and we had another chance to talk about where this box might go and what little boy his age might get it. He never tried to keep any of the special items he picked out and remained super excited to be able to do this for someone else. Honestly, I didn't think a four-year-old was capable of understanding this, but I guess I underestimated the little guy.
Then the frustration kicked in. Tristan saw the filled and finished box sitting on the counter everyday and was mad that it was not on it's way to the little boy. I told him we needed to wait to take it to church, but that week Neil was traveling and there was no way I was going to take all three boys to the drop off table. After all of T's work, I wanted him to be able to take his time and ask questions if he wanted to instead of running by and throwing the box on the table. We waited one more painstaking week, but he was still so excited to drop it off! With the label we made online, we will be able to track our box to the country it lands in. That will be another exciting day!!
I learn so much watching my kids. Tristan's ideas about helping others and the way the little ones are quick to include new children to play. I know we are to have faith like a child and some of these lessons fall right next to that. If I let them run with their ideas, there is no telling what we as a family will learn about life and love! 
