Santa Clause

[edmehlig]

This is my 5th year playing Santa for the Loren Hope Foundation for the mentally and physically impaired children. I look forward to doing this every year as it reminds me how fortunate I am that no matter how tough I think have it, there are many people who have it a lot worse than you. I also give thanks to God that he blessed me with children and grandchildren who are mentally and physically sound. I also pray to God for the parents of these children to give them the strength to take care of them as they have to handle their issues 24x7x365 days.
God Bless them for taking care of them.

 

[deermanok]

That's awesome. Thank you for giving your time.

 

[bronko220002]

Fantastic Ed.
I hope you also spread the,Good News

 

[CGhost]

That is wonderful! Glad you can bring some joy to their life, some of us don't know how good we really have it!

 

[HC]

A dozen roses to Ed Mehlig. The man with a heart of gold.

 

[edmehlig]

Thanks Guys I really enjoy doing this.

 

[MrTom]

It takes a special kind of person to take on this sort of challenge. Good for you and thank you for making some special lives happier.

 

[DavidAR10T]

My youngest daughter, Sallie 28, has Down Syndrome. I'm blessed that she has no flies on her and that the Lord knows I'm no tough guy. She runs her Iphone, Ipad, den tv and house phone all at the same time. If I tease her too much she'll say, "You're stepping on my last nerve Jarhead/old man."

God Bless Ted. Give him the help, strength and health for many years to come.

 

[Corpe Nimrod]

I did the same for many years for an agency in Southern Michigan before I moved away. These "kids" lived in the group homes there, and some had family contact, many did not. It was infinitely rewarding and humbling to experience it. Childlike, whether age 2 or 70, each truly believed I was Santa, and gave me more joy than I could ever give to them. It would bring tears to my eyes when they would jump in my lap and ask for things like socks, sweaters, gloves, or a new pillow. In the 9 years, I can count on one hand the number of times I was asked for something like an Xbox, a new phone or some other expensive gift. Truthfully, seeing your pics in this post Ed, brought it all back to me in a flash. God bless you and those "kids" who you commune with for sharing your Christmas spirit!

 

[GLenn]

Thank you Ed!!
We all need to hit “pause“ occasionally and give thanks to our Lord and savior. We really don’t have to look very far to see situations much worse then what we think are our bad situations.

 

[TopFueler1]

That is awesome! Thank you Ed and may God Bless Us All!

 

[Hatchet Jack]

Thank you Ed

 

[edmehlig]

I have a little humor to tell you about what happened that day. After all of the kids finished sitting on my lap and taking pictures the brother of one of the impaired children who was about 10 yrs old came to me and asked if he could sit on my lap. I said sure and asked him what he wanted for Christmas. I told him my Elf told me he was being a good boy this year. He said he tries to help his mommy and daddy with his brother as much as he could. So after he told me of the simple gifts he wanted, he asked me what cookies I liked to eat as his mommy was going to the store Christmas Eve and buying some for me. He asked me if I liked Chocolate Chips and Oreos. I said, I sure do with some milk. As he started to walk away, he came back and asked me if I liked the original Oreos or the Double Stuff. I responded right away with my Thumbs up and said "The DUBBLE STUFF". He jumped up with a big smile on his face, ran to his mother, and told her Santa loves the Double Stuff Oreos. Man, you had to her laugh. It made me feel great seeing that I brought joy to that kid. I sure hope he gets to eat those Double Stuff Oreos.

 

[TopFueler1]

That's a good one Ed. I always left a plate of homemade chocolate chips and milk for Santa too!