Who knew ...

... that these have eggs in them:

I've been really looking for ways to teach my kids about giving at Christmastime. We sponsored a Portuguese family. I took the boys shopping with me. They helped wrap and deliver the presents.

Yesterday we decided to make goodie bags for the people that work with Daddy at the Clinic. I left Hannah at home with Grampa and Grama and took the three oldest kiddos shopping. We picked out a ton of candy, brought it to Daddy's work, and sat on the floor of his office making candy bags.

During the course of this lesson in giving, I found myself pretty frustrated by the kids demands that they get candy.

"When do I get some candy?"
"I want candy."
"Candy! Candy! Candy!" (That one was Abigail.)

I went into a long lecture about how we were going to learn about giving. That while I was going to give them some candy when we were done, I wanted us to give first.

Two minutes of silence and then:

"When do I get some candy?"
"I want candy."
"Candy! Candy! Candy!"

My lecture this next time was a bit more passionate. So much so that I found Sidge saying, "Mom, are you losing your temper?"

Yes, yes I was.

Okay, so trying to teach your kids about giving while raising your voice was probably not the best example of Christ's love.

I calmed down and explained again what we were learning. This was about giving. The wise men gave gifts to Jesus. God gave us his son. Give. And don't yell.

After the bags were done, I let the kids each pick out three pieces of candy for themselves. Isaac's first choice: a Peppermint Patty.

I opened it for him.

I handed it to him.

He ate it.

And then he immediately said, "I need some water."

JB was very busy with patients that morning but happened to be typing at his desk when Isaac muttered this request. John quickly handed Isaac his water bottle off his desk and then shot me a very concerned glance.

Isaac doesn't drink a lot. He very rarely asks for drinks. But when he has eaten eggs and his throat starts bothering him, he will request something to drink immediately.

"What did he eat?" JB mouthed to me.

I held up the Peppermint Patty wrapper.

JB quickly started typing into his computer, checking ingredients.

I turned the wrapper over frantically searching for the ingredients. Milk, soy ... EGGS!

"It has eggs!" I said out loud, before I could even think about being more discreet.

Isaac put the water down. His eyes got incredibly wide. And then he started to cry. JB called him over, and he crawled up onto his Daddy's lap.

I felt so bad. Protecting my children is my job. He can't read. He doesn't know to look for eggs. He is so careful. He always asks if things have eggs.

But candy is usually safe. I never even thought to check for eggs in a Peppermint Patty. I should have, of course. I should have remembered that anything creamy needs to be checked for eggs.

John told Isaac not to worry, but Isaac just cried. "I don't want an EpiPen Daddy."

"Okay," John said. "Well, we are at the clinic. It was a very small piece of candy. I think we can wait and see for a few minutes."

And then Isaac said, "Could you please pray and ask Jesus that I won't have to have the epi-pen?"

Melt my heart.

So while my little boy and his Daddy prayed, I prayed too. I asked Jesus to please grant a little boy his request. He just didn't want a shot! This was supposed to be a fun morning of eating candy and celebrating giving. How stinky to have to give him a shot on a morning like this.

And his prayer was answered.

Within ten minutes, his throat stopped hurting, and he was doing totally fine. JB reminded me that this is not something I can do if I am away from him and away from the clinic. Because we were where we had all the medicines we might need and a doctor and people to help, we were able to wait a few extra minutes. But had we been at home, the risk would not be worth it, and I would have to give him a shot!

Peppermint Patties! Who would have thought!