To Lauren From Wes

Lauren, I'm sorry that this post is late, but I think that the spirit of this tradition of providing service rather than giving presents of monetary value has served its purpose well. By that, I mean that I have become more service oriented and thoughtful of others throughout the whole year. Before I drew your name in May, I already knew that I would need to start thinking of ways to provide a service. It didn't take long to correct my thinking. I knew that I wanted to provide a service and how grateful I was that this great family chose to do this every year. I can narrow down my service to a single act of kindness, but I hope you can understand and feel what I mean when I say that my service was a spirit of kindness and service to others throughout the whole year. In the summer after Cristina's mom died, she went to Mexico to spend more time with her family. She took Josh, Jasmine and Dana with her. I came to visit a couple of times while she was there, and during her stay we found a friend who's baby boy was born pre-mature. On one of my trips to Mexico, I brought with me a care package for their baby boy, knowing how delicate life is in the first few months, and especially when resources are scarce and hospitals are just not as affordable to us in the US.

He is healthy and strong now, thanks to his loving parents and the care they give him. I'm grateful to have contributed at least a little bit to helping him along.

Merry Christmas Lauren, and we all can't wait to meet your little ginger. Wes