This is our fourth Christmas in this house (our fifth Christmas in North Carolina), and we have had the same garbage man all four years.  He often takes time to talk with the children for just a minute in his busy day.   He has a special place in our hearts.  Many times the children have shared cookies and treats with him as our way of saying thank you for his hard work and dedication.   They are always courteous and thank him for collecting our trash.  He seems deeply surprised and pleased that our children treat him so kind and with such admiration.  I am sure he is not often thanked for the work he does. 

Each week the children anxiously wait for him to arrive and they run to the front porch to wave and say hi when he stops in front of our house.   They wait on the porch or at the front door until he leaves and they wave goodbye. 

He always waves goodbye to them.  Then a few minutes later they run to the back of the house and watch through the window as he drives to a nearby subdivision and collects garbage there.  A few minutes later he travels down the road behind our house and they get one last glimpse of him.  If it is a nice day and we are outside in the back yard playing, or eating a picnic lunch in the yard, they wave goodbye to him a second time. 

Our family made special Christmas cards and gifts this year for our community helpers.  We wanted to let them know how much we appreciate them.  Each card was different and personal.  I was so proud of the cards the kids made for everyone. 

We used a variety of colors of construction paper to make the outside of the cards.  Some cards had additional papers glued into the inside, others did not.  The kids used markers, crayons, pencils, and stamps depending on what card they were making.  We used a variety of wrapping papers and cut out different Christmas themed shapes and pictures.   Some of the cards included a picture of all of the kids together, others included a drawing or craft the kids had made.  I will share more pictures of cards and gifts they made in another Christmas themed story.

For the Garbage Man, the children cut and pasted wrapping paper ornaments onto a homemade card.  They used markers to write a special message.  Then they attatched an additional paper inside the card where they drew a picture of him collecting our garbage and thanked him and in the top of the card they wrote a special verse just for him.  They made fudgey “no bake” chocolate oatmeal cookies and wrapped them up very pretty to give him. 

As soon as he arrived they darted out of the house to greet him.  And yes, the kids are in shorts, in December. It is amazing to me how warm the winter is here. We have very few cold days and we can often wear shorts even in December and January.  Sometimes it is chilly in the morning, but by the time lunch time rolls around, it is comfortable temperatures again.  I would never dream of doing that in Indiana or Kansas this time of year. But it is normal here in this section of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the edge of NC and SC. The temperatures stay very mild for most of the year.  Anyway, they showered him with appreciation, and blessings for the coming year.

                     Thank you for all you do Mr Garbage Man.   We appreciate you. 

                    Merry Christmas Mr. Garbage Man!