Wrap up to the month of kindness

Well it has been about a week since my last blog. With Thanksgiving and having company over for the holiday time just slipped away from me...

For our last act of kindness we adopted a kid from the angel tree at Jordan's school. When I explained to the kids that some kids don't get any presents for Christmas because they can't afford them they were amazed. I could see Kate trying to grasp at the fact that some kids don't get presents. My kids have always been very fortunate that they have many people who spoil them. I loved using this opportunity to help them realize that they are lucky. We picked out some new jeans, shirts and of course toys for this little boy!

Over the last month I have seen a change in the kids attitudes. They are way more thankful for the things they have. They also and I think more importantly have been suggesting and asking to do nice things for others. I think that they definitely learned about giving back. It is something that we will continue to randomly do with them. It is important to me that they are kind, giving, compassionate people.

I am excited to go into December. There is so many fun things to do with the holiday's coming up. Buddy The Elf (our elf on a shelf) will be making his first appearance tomorrow and I can not wait for the kids excitement!!

Thank you for reading and for the last time this year Happy November!!

Kindness Days 19 & 20: Fireman

Day 19: Thankful for company coming for Thanksgiving.
 Kate helped me clean the house to get ready for company. Both of the kids helped to gather pine cones and leaves to use in our centerpiece. We are excited to have family come to share in the holiday with us.

Our Thanksgiving centerpiece

Day 20: Fireman.
We have a fire station just up the road from our house. Kate's class recently had the firefighters come visit her school and they got to see the firetruck. We are thankful to have men and women that serve our communities and others. These people risk their lives to help others. They have to sacrifice having Thanksgiving with their families and friends so that they can be on call for others.

 So the kids decided to make cookies for them. We have two fire stations in town so we made cookies for both :o) Funfetti cookies and chocolate with peanut butter chips. The kids were excited to deliver them and all of the firemen were so nice and appreciative.

Thank you for reading and Happy November!!

Days 15-18

Oh my goodness the time got away from me these last few days!! We have been busy working on projects around the house, birthday parties and children's choir performances!

Day 15: The kids were thankful to have friends coming over for a fire/smore's/ hot dog roast. They helped me pick up the house to get ready. Kate even folded laundry for me!

Day 16: Thankful for a yard to run and play in. On Saturday the kids picked up the yard. Our dog Fenway likes to chew up whatever she can find out there resulting in chewed up toy buckets. So they picked up all the garbage to make the yard nice and clean again.

Day 17: Music. Both Jordan and Kate love music and singing! Jordan is part of the children's choir at church. Sunday he participated in 3 performances. One at each church service and one at the evening community Thanksgiving service. He wanted to perform in each one because he is so thankful for music :o)

Day 18: Mrs. Kie ( We just love her so we are extra thankful for her and decided to treat her again). Kate asked Mrs. Kie last week what her favorite kind of coffee is from Starbucks. She has remembered all week long and bugged me everyday about taking Mrs. Kie a coffee. So today on our way to school we picked up a caramel macchiato (my favorite too but I was good and refrained from getting one). Mrs. Kie was so pleased that we brought her coffee and I think that it definitely made her Monday! Her and Kate have a special bond and it just touches my heart to watch it. We are so blessed that she has such a great teacher.

Day 14: Children's Hospital

Last night a couple that I went to high school with lost their little boy to cancer. He was 4 years old and had spent most of his life fighting this awful disease. My heart was heavy this morning as I learned of the news. I'm grateful for him and his family that he will not be in pain any more. But as a mother I can not fathom losing a child. Rest in peace sweet Cash Hyde.

My own kids happened to have doctors appointments today. Kate recently turned 5 so she had her well check. She checked out perfectly :o)

In October of 2011 Jordan was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease. This was a scary time for our family. It took 5 days to diagnose him. He spent time in the hospital, had numerous echocardiograms done and bloodwork more times then I could count. After we left the hospital he took 4 aspirin every 6 hours round the clock for MONTHS. He continued to have bloodwork done weekly and made trips to the children's hospital for echo's. After all was said and done he came out with a clean bill of health. No heart damage. Praise the Lord!! He has been healthy ever since. But he had to go in today for his one year check up. He also checked out perfectly although we will have to go to the children's hospital for a follow up echo.

Needless to say after experiencing Kawasaki Disease last year with Jordan I have been extra cautious of their health. I talked to them today after their doctor's appointment about being thankful for their health. They are both growing great and are rarely sick. I reminded Jordan about when he was in the hospital last year and we talked about kids that are really sick and have to stay there for weeks, month, years. So the kids decided to donate some toys to those kids so they would have something to play with. Jordan got so bored in the hospital. Once he started feeling better he still had to stay for awhile and was anxious to have something to do. So we decided it would be nice to take toys to the Children's Hospital in Little Rock for the kids there to play with. Both kids went through their rooms and brought out a pile. I plan on taking them to the children's hospital tomorrow.

I am so blessed to have healthy children. Also to have children that are learning to be so gracious to others. I am so proud of them and thank God every day for these wonderful, beautiful little people that he gave to me. Please hug your children extra tight tonight. Thank you for reading. Happy November!!

Day 13: Classmates

Today the kids are thankful for their classmates. They both have enjoyed making new friends and really enjoy their classmates. So today to show our appreciation for them we took snacks.

Now it was Kate's normal snack day but she made sure we did extra special ones. We made little cornucopia's with trail mix in them. It worked out great because they were painting cornucopia's today. We also took cheese slices and juices.

Kate's cornucopia's

Jordan's class has snack every day but every child is responsible for their own snack. Jordan always tells me that some kids forget their snacks sometimes. Today he took granola bars for the whole class and he even took some extras so that next time someone forgets theirs there is extra there.

I am so proud of my kids and their hearts of gold. It makes me happy to see them learning that doing kind acts for others makes you feel good as well. Thank you for reading. Happy November!!

Day 12: World Kindness Day

Today is World Kindness Day!! What kind things have you done for others? I talked to the kids today about it being world kindness day and being extra kind to others. When we ran errands Kate smiled at everyone and of course if you know Kate she  had conversations with people, just trying to be nice to everyone we saw.

Today the kids are thankful for our dog Fenway. I think since Fenway got out of the yard the other day and we had to go find her they realized more how much they love her. Jordan especially has been extra thankful for her. So today since not all animals can have a place to run and play and their own homes with people to love them we decided to donate some towels to the local humane society. They use the towels for the animals to lay on so their cages aren't so cold and it gives them some warmth and padding.

The kids with Fenway

Kate also learned today that when you do nice things for people sometimes you get nice things back. You may remember a few days ago we made cookies for our mailman. Well today when Kate checked the mail the tin that we had given him with the cookies in it was back in our mailbox. Inside was a note that said thank you and 4 suckers for Kate. She was so excited! Definitely made her day and was a great teaching tool for me. :o)

Thank you so much for reading. I hope that you take the time today to do something kind for someone else no matter how big or small. Happy November!!

Kindness Day 11: Neighbors

Since we moved into our new neighborhood in Arkansas all of our neighbors have been so nice. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful. So today we decided it would be nice to make them brownies. Kate was so cute when she delivered them. Our one neighbor asked her why she got brownies and Kate replied "Because I am thankful for people." So sweet this little lady of mine.

Tomorrow is national acts of kindness day. What acts of kindness will you do? It can be something as simple as smiling at everyone you see or holding the door for someone. Leave me a comment with your idea :o)

Thanks for reading and Happy November!!

Kindness Days 9&10

Day 9: Helping each other.
On Saturday we worked on various projects around the house. While sometimes this can be boring for the kiddos they were extra helpful this weekend. Steve spent most of the day Saturday building a fire pit. The kids helped pound in the nails (until Kate hit her finger then it was all up to Jordan). And Jordan spent extra time holding the top on while Steve secured it into place.
During this time our dog Fenway also decided to run away. Something she has never done before so I was a little concerned. Jordan hopped right in the car to help me find her. We just went up the street a little and she was easy to find. Silly dog!
So while we didn't do any thing for others on Saturday we stressed the importance of helping each other out as a family and accomplishing things together.

The kids helping with the fire pit

Day 10: Car ride conversations.
The kids are always very concerned with who's birthday is coming up next. I think that multiple times a week we talk about who's birthday is coming up next. Grandpa Bill just had his birthday this past week so now we don't have any birthday's until January. So today when the kids asked who's birthday is next I told them that it would be Jesus. This of course brought on lots of questions (mostly by Kate) of what we get Jesus for his birthday and how we give him any presents. I wanted to share a little of the conversation that went on after this question.

Kate "What do we give Jesus for his birthday and how do we give it to him?"
Jordan "You can give him your heart. That's what I did!"
Kate "How do I give him my heart?"
Jordan "You just have to pray and tell him that you give him your heart."
Kate "OK I will for his birthday. Then what do you do?"
Me "Then you try to be good and do the right thing like Jesus wants you to. Like be kind, listen and share."
Both kids "OK! Then who's birthday is after that?"

I love these two beautiful children so much and love that they are always wanting to give of themselves and to help others. And I of course love their sweet conversations. Thank you for reading. Happy November!!

Kindness Days 7&8

Sorry that I haven't done a posting in the last few days. We have been super busy with life but have still made sure to do our kind acts for the day. I'm hoping that the kids learned that no matter how busy life gets doing something kind for others often only takes a few minutes.

Day 7: Cleaned up a park.
 On the way home from picking Jordan up from school I decided to stop at the park . Since we have lived in Arkansas we haven't done much exploring of the local parks so I decided that it was time. The kids were excited to stop and play for a few minutes. They also thought that while we were there it would be nice to pick up the garbage that others had left behind. I'm so proud that my kiddos are starting to notice things like this and take care of the problem themselves instead of leaving it for others.

Of course they also played at the park.

 

Day 8: Cards for their great grandparents.
My kids are so fortunate to have 7 great grandparents that are still alive and in fairly good health. They love getting to see and play with their great grandparents. Although they don't get to see them too often due to the distance between us all the kids talk about them constantly. So for their kind act on this day they decided that it would be nice to make their great grandparents cards that tell them that they love them. They worked so hard making sure that they each got their very own card. I love that my kids are so thankful for these wonderful people in their lives and that they can show them their love and gratitude.

I have one more thing that I wanted to share from the other day that touched my heart. Kate and I were watching t.v. when a commercial came on for a children's hospital. It was showing little children suffering from cancer that had no hair. Kate wanted to know why those little girls didn't have any hair. I told her that they were very sick and that the medicine they take to make them feel better makes all of their hair fall out. So my sweet little girl who for as long as I remember has wanted to grow her hair out like Disney's Tangeled decided right then and there that when her hair gets long enough she would like to cut it off and give it to those little girls that don't have hair. I am so proud of this little girl with a heart of gold.

Thank you all for reading. Enjoy your weekend and Happy November!!

Kindness Day 6: Mailman

Today for our act of kindness we decided to do something nice for our mailman.

 He is the nicest guy. Twice just this week he has seen Kate going to check the mail when he turns onto our street and has skipped the other houses before ours (about 6 of them) just so he can give her the mail and then he goes back and does his route. He is always very friendly and chats with us if we are outside. Sometimes if we are not home the first time that he comes by and he has a package for us he will stop back by later to drop it off just so I don't have to make a trip to the post office. So in order to thank him for his kindness and hardwork we decided to bake him some chocolate chip cookies. We left them in the mailbox with a handwritten note telling him thank you for being such a nice mailman. Hopefully it brightened his day :o)

This one is short and sweet but thank you for taking the time to read it. Happy November!!



Tin of cookies and note



Kate making the cookies

Kindness Day 5

Last night while we were snug in our house there was a big hail storm outside. While it resulted in Jordan's football game (semi-finals) to get cancelled it was a great teaching tool for me. I explained to the kids how we are fortunate to have a nice warm house to cuddle up in when it is cold outside and that some people aren't so lucky. They both decided that they were very thankful to have a house to keep them warm while it stormed.

That brings us to day 5 and being thankful for our home and beds :o) Today when we got up we went through our closets and gathered extra blankets. Kate helped me to wash them and then we dropped them off at a local homeless shelter for the people that don't have houses and beds to cuddle in when it storms outside. It is so important to me that the kids learn that they are very fortunate for all that they have and that others are going without. I want them to learn that it is important for us to help others less fortunate when we can.

 I keep thinking about the devastation that Hurricane Sandy left over on the east coast and praying for those people. I can not imagine losing everything and how devastating that would be. So while I can't go there to help hopefully we helped some people here in our town to be a little warmer tonight.

Happy November!!




Kate helping wash the blankets

Really mom stop taking my picture and let me load this

Kindness Day 4: Teachers

Today the kids (and me) are thankful for their teachers. My kids have the BEST teachers this year. We recently moved half way across the country from Oregon to Arkansas and both of their teachers have been beyond helpful in making this transition.

Mrs. Feimster is Jordan's first grade teacher. She has been so kind and patient with him and helping him to get caught up to where he needs to be. Last year he only attended half day kindergarten where as all of his other classmates attended full day. He has struggled with reading and writing but with the help of Mrs. Feimster he has already come leaps and bounds in those departments. I am so thankful that he was placed in her class. He absolutely loves going to school each day and seeing Mrs. Feimster and all of his classmates. To show his appreciation he took her a bouquet of flowers. Hopefully he was also extra kind and helpful but I will find out when I pick him up :o)



Jordan and his bouquet plus a handwritten note

Mrs. Kie is Kate's preschool teacher. She is so wonderful and I really feel like God purposely put Kate in her class. She has been so helpful with things non school related. She has recommended churches, dry cleaners, stores, doctors, etc. She has gone above and beyond to make us feel welcome and to help navigate this new town.
Of course she is also a fantastic teacher. Kate has learned so much and is always excited to tell me all about her day and the new things she has learned. Mrs. Kie does so many fun activities with the kids and is just one of the sweetest, most patient people I have ever met. I definitely would not have the patience to be a preschool teacher and I think that it takes a special person to be one. Kate also took Mrs. Kie flowers with a handwritten note to show her thankfulness.




Kate and her bouquet along with a handwritten note

Kate and her teacher Mrs. Kie

Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog and experience the journey that the kids and I are taking this month in learning to be thankful for the things and people we have in our lives and to show extra kindness to them as well as strangers. Happy November!!

Kindness Days 2 & 3

Well we had a busy weekend but throughout it the kids came up with things (people) they were thankful for and showed them kindness.

Day 2: Each other. I am so blessed to be able to say that my kids are best friends. Sometimes they drive each other crazy and fight but ultimately they have an unconditional love for one another. I was so pleased as their momma when Saturday morning I went into Jordan's room while they were playing and asked them what they were thankful for that day and without hesitation they each said the other one.We talked about them doing nice things throughout the day and they explained to me that they had already went through all of their markers and crayons and traded for the other ones favorite colors. Throughout the day they played so well with not even one argument. They helped each other clean up their rooms, spent time playing what each one likes together and finished the night with a movie and a sleep over in Jordan's room. I hope that throughout the rest of their lives that they always remain thankful for each other and continue to let their bond grow stronger and stronger.

Day 3: Us. This morning when I went to find them playing in Kate's room and asked them what they were thankful they said "Mom and Steve". Let me tell you when your small children say that they are thankful for you it just melts your heart. While the kids are helpful every day today was no different. They are always eager to help with their baby brother, whether it's feed him a bottle, play with him or give him his pacifier they always help without complaint.

Kate and I went for a nice walk/ bike ride today. I walked with Will in the stroller and she rode her bike. I love these little moments when we just get to visit and talk about whatever her little heart desires. Today is was everyone's fall decorations on their front porches. To see the world through her eyes is always humorous.

While we walked Steve and Jordan played catch. While I wasn't around to watch most of this activity when I walked up I could see the joy in their eyes and getting to spend some "man time" together.

We ended the evening with baths/ showers for the kids and the nicest thing of all... They ASKED to go to bed and went without a complaint. Jordan had the t.v. on in his room for awhile and turned it off without us asking and went to bed.

I for one am so incredibly thankful to have such wonderful, loving children. But I might be even more thankful that they are thankful for me. Their love makes my life complete :o) Thank you for taking the time to read my blog... Happy November!!

Month of Kindness

The month of November for many people brings on a month of reflection on all that we are thankful for. I for one have a lot to be thankful for. I have a loving husband, wonderful, healthy children, a warm house to sleep in and plenty of food to eat.

 I have been trying to think of ways to teach my kids thankfulness. They have never had to worry about having a bed to sleep in, having supper or getting a warm bath before bed. So I found that they were taking these things for granted and not being thankful for what they had but instead wanting something different for dinner or more toys, not wanting to wear certain clothes, etc.

So for November I am going to be teaching them some "Character Education". Everyday this month we will be talking about what they have to be thankful for and then giving back to those that don't have the same things. Or doing kind things to the people that look out for them and help them such as teachers, firefighters, mailman, etc.

So today is day one. Day one we are all thankful for closets full of warm clothes so we will be donating a bag of clothes to a local shelter so they can hand them out to those who do not have much.

I am excited to see what this month will bring and the lessons that my children will come away with. Please follow my blog throughout the month and let me know what acts of kindess you perform. Happy November!!