Exclusive Content:

Why We Stopped Going House to House for the Holidays

We hit a breaking point. We were so tired of rushing from house to house; we had truly begun to dread holidays. It was time to make a change for our family.

WATCH: Hobby Lobby Lights Up Mom Hearts With Viral Christmas Ad

Has Hobby Lobby entered the world of emotionally persuasive holiday short-form cinema? It would certainly seem so! And their Christmas ad effort is 100% geared toward what is undoubtedly their most loyal customer: busy (exhausted, out-of-time) moms.

“This Christmas I Want Food”: What These Foster Kids Want For Christmas Is Heartbreaking

None of them asked for this year’s hottest toy, or another video game to add to their collection. No, the children who filled out these tags listed their “innermost dreams”—things that should be part of everyone’s childhood.

“When I Was Called to Foster, I Thought for Sure God Messed Up. Me? Nope. Insanity. With My Heart Scared to Death and My Voice Shaking, I Said ‘Yes. Sign Me Up. I’ll Do It.'”

After about six months of having Jeremy home and things starting to settle down a bit, we started making visits with his other siblings. We headed out one Saturday morning to attend our sibling visit like we had every other time, except once again, this visit forever changed my life. The kids were tearing through the park, jumping off the slide, and hanging from the monkey bars while I stood there talking to another foster mom.

That’s when I felt a little tug on my shirt. I turned around and there stood Jeremy’s brother Kendrick. I turned around and asked if he was okay or if he needed anything. He said, ‘Are you Jeremy’s mom?’ I said, ‘Yeah buddy, I am.’ And then his crushing response was, ‘Will you be my mom too?’ I cried. I hugged him. I was speechless. I couldn’t promise this sweet boy I would be his mom because no way was I going to take him and leave his little brother behind, and NO WAY was I going to take two more kids. Nope. I wasn’t doing it. FOR SURE not your girl, God. That’s real, real cute.

Courtesy of Amy Pollard

Remember when I told you about that whole telling God ‘no’ thing? Yeah, that’s cute too, but it still doesn’t work. My other two sons were home in less than a week and I was officially a single mom of three boys. Well-intended loved ones once again reminded me how insane I was and that I was making a mistake. Some even walked away. And it’s okay. I know it’s crazy. Trust me. I’m living right in the middle of all the crazy, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Why We Stopped Going House to House for the Holidays

We hit a breaking point. We were so tired of rushing from house to house; we had truly begun to dread holidays. It was time to make a change for our family.

WATCH: Hobby Lobby Lights Up Mom Hearts With Viral Christmas Ad

Has Hobby Lobby entered the world of emotionally persuasive holiday short-form cinema? It would certainly seem so! And their Christmas ad effort is 100% geared toward what is undoubtedly their most loyal customer: busy (exhausted, out-of-time) moms.

“This Christmas I Want Food”: What These Foster Kids Want For Christmas Is Heartbreaking

None of them asked for this year’s hottest toy, or another video game to add to their collection. No, the children who filled out these tags listed their “innermost dreams”—things that should be part of everyone’s childhood.