pics of all 3 kids...together...looking at the camera!

On my birthday, I guilted convinced my kids to let me get a few pics of all three of them together.

The Soda Fountain

The day we ran around town doing acts of kindness, we made a fun stop (because the kids were running out of steam).  We were driving around (trying to find a homeless person to give toiletries and a blanket to), Annabelle had fallen asleep and the boys were tired of being in the car.  I quietly mentioned to Cody that I knew of an old fashioned soda fountain shop and maybe we could get the kids some ice cream.  I am not exaggerating, Annabelle popped up from her nap and immediately started shouting, "Ice Cream! Ice Cream!"  The girl loves her some ice cream.


Annabelle ate her ice cream and then helped out Barrett with his Strawberry milkshake.

(Barrett took this picture...he did pretty good!)

35 acts of kindness for my 35th birthday

In celebration of my 35th birthday, I decided to do 35 Acts of Kindness.  (Click HERE for more about that).
Last Saturday, we woke up bright and early, and (some of us) rar-ar-ar-ing to go.  We loaded up the car with lots of items we would be donating to various places and began our day-long adventure of doing acts of kindness for others.  Here's what we did:

1) Left Lemon loaf in our mailbox for the mailman
2) Wrote "Have a great day!" on the street.  Later, a friend told me she jogged by it and it made her smile.
3) Deliver lemon loaves to neighbors on our street.  We left them without knocking because it was pretty early, but our next door neighbors came by later to thank us and we had a good chat.


4) Took bags filled with 35 Hershey's Kisses to my favorite Sonic carhops.


5) Went through the Starbucks drive thru and bought coffee for the car behind us. (I wonder if they knew they were going to be lucky sitting behind a car with this written on the back window)


6) At Target, we bought some gift cards to give out later, but we gave one to the cashier right after we paid.

7) Also at Target I put a bag of diapers and wipes in the family restroom.


8) Next we went to the Dollar Store and attached a bunch of dollar bills to items around the store.  (The boys loved this!)


9) Mailed Nena (my grandmother) a homemade gift from the kids


10) Took flowers to someone we knew who could use some cheering up


11)  Broke into my mom's house while she was out of town and cleaned as much as we could.  Her house was pretty darn clean, but we found a few things to do.

12) Let someone go in front of us in line at the grocery store

13) Helped people unload groceries into their trunks, and returned carts to the store

14) Delivered Girl Scout and Homemade cookies to the fire station - Kyle was very happy he got to see the inside of an ambulance and talk to the firemen.


15) Donated toys and coloring books to Children's Hospital


16) Donated Pajamas for the Mamas at Children's Hospital (If you have ever taken a child to the ER and ended up getting admitted while wearing throw-up stained jeans and clothes, you would be very appreciative for these jammies...I know.)


17) Donated food to Food Pantry


18) Donated coats and clothes to Joseph's Coat

19) Taped dollar bills to vending machines
20) Donated a big box of Goldfish to the church nursery


21) Gave bottled water to a crew of construction workers

22) Left a big tip at lunch

23) Gave a blanket and baggie of toiletries to a homeless man.  I watched the man afterward and he just kept smiling at that bag of hotel soaps for the longest time.

24-28) Tucked $5 Target gift cards under wipers of cars parked at The Salvation Army
29) Donated about 10 books to the local library

30) Left a bottle of Laundry detergent at the Laundromat

31) Gave $50 Target gift card to someone doing laundry at the laundromat

32) Donated peanut butter and Dog Treats to Operation Kindness Animal Shelter


33) Donated a printer/scanner/fax machine and ink cartridges to Operation Kindness (Their website indicated they were in need of one)

34) Went to the nursing home and handed out cheerful flower pens


35) picked up trash around the neighborhood.

It took all day and we were completely exhausted and yet fulfilled at the same time.  We came home and watched a movie together as a family.  It was a great birthday!

My Birthday Wish

I have come to believe that the challenges (a.k.a. child-induced sufferings) that these little people present are actually a GIFT from God given to us to teach us about ourselves, and to form us into the best person we can be.  In all of my efforts to teach my kids this or that, I find that they are the ones who are teaching me.  Or, probably more accurately, God is teaching me through my children, little by little, everyday.   I don't know what God was thinking when He entrusted me with raising these 3 children, but I am determined to do my best.  Most days end with me thinking that I could have done so much more, so much better, and wondering if my kids are going to turn out okay despite all of my incompetencies and weaknesses.  I realize that because I so badly want my kids to become good people, I am going to have to make some changes myself…"Be the change I want to see in the world."  One night recently, I was talking to Cody about the kids and how I just couldn't understand why they wouldn't just make their beds in the morning. "I mean really, how hard is it to make a bed?" I said …as I climbed into my own UNMADE bed.  Hello, ton of bricks!  So, all week this week (granted it's only Wednesday) I have made my bed…and so have the boys.  It made me wonder though, what else am I teaching them through my example?  Am I teaching them to be respectful?  Am I teaching them to be grateful?  To be honest, giving, forgiving and kind?  I don't know, but probably not as much as I like to think.  I have decided to take a more proactive approach to parenting (that's a whole other topic) and not just wait for my kids to do something wrong so I can punish them.  Instead, it is my goal to seek out teachable moments and opportunities and stories that convey the values we want our family to model.  And to notice and express gratitude when they do something that upholds those values.  You know what? It's already working…I see big changes in myself and my kids…I'm not just talking about making beds.  I'm talking about genuine caring, selflessness, and giving. 

Because it's February, we have been talking to our kids a lot about LOVE.  We have 5 one-word rules in our family.  Love, Peace, Order, Respect, Permission…"and the greatest of these is love."  When you think about it Love is the perfect "rule" to live by and teach kids.  Example: "Oh no, you just hit your brother.  Was that a loving thing to do?" or "I saw you holding the door for your mommy, that probably made her feel loved." We have been encouraging the boys to do one thing extra loving each day and then we ask them at dinner what they did that day.  And you bet they asked US the same question! There are days when I have been blown away by their kindness!  On some of those same days, I have had to think REALLY hard to come up with something loving I had done (other than make dinner and shuttle them around).  One night, Barrett offered to do Kyle's after-dinner chores. Another day, we had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and Kyle gave a bunch of his tickets (without hesitation and without a suggestion from me) to another kid who lost his.  I want to do something memorable. 

On February 27th, I am turning 35 years old.  In lieu of gifts this year, my birthday wish is to do a Random Act of Kindness for each year since my birth.  With help from Cody and the boys, I have made a list of 35 small acts of kindness that I can do with my kids in tow and on a small budget.  I will be doing this on Saturday, February 23rd.  I would love for YOU to be a part of this with me…Maybe you have an idea for my list, maybe you know someone who could use a pick-me-up, or have something you want me to take off your hands and donate, maybe you want to do this with us (c'mon, it'll be fun), maybe you want to do a random act of kindness on that day.  I plan to encourage my Facebook friends to do a random act of kindness that day and comment on what they did.  My goal is to "be the change", be an example to my kids, inspire kindness, and brighten the days of others. I don't believe that you have to spend lots of money or do grand things to be kind and show people you care.  I hope this challenge will be memorable for my kids.  I hope the fulfillment of the experience will inspire kindness in them as well as others.  

Right now, I am exhausted…and SO grateful for the joys and sufferings of motherhood that are shaping me and drawing me closer to God.

Matthew 25:34-36    Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

John 13:34  A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

~William Arthur Ward

Look what the tooth fairy brought!

Barrett lost his second tooth on February 13th...the day before Valentine's Day.  And this is what the tooth fairy left for him under his pillow!

A dollar bill folded into a heart and one folded into a ring.

Tea Time with Gigi...and Minnie...and Elmo...

My mom came over to watch Annabelle last weekend while Cody and I took the boys to see the Globetrotters (pics of that soon).  She told me ahead of time that she was planning to have a tea party with Annabelle and to gather up the needed materials for getting all gussied up.  When my mom arrived, I had everything ready to go...I was not about to completely miss the tea party, so they HAD to start sipping before it was time for me to go.  I snapped a few pics of this momentous occasion...the first real tea party with my little girl (the first of many, I'm sure), and a special time with her Gigi. 

Saying goodbye to Aggie

We just came in from the store a few minutes ago and Annabelle called Aggie's name about 20 times. Then she came to me asking where Aggie is. I had the heartbreaking job of telling her again that she is not here and she is not coming back. Annabelle's shoulders and face dropped as she walked away. We will all miss her very much.  I pulled out some old pictures and there were pictures of her dressed up for halloween...once as a bumble bee and once as Elvis.  Sadly, I could not find the picture of Cody and I in the snow where Aggie was jumping up to get the snowball out of my hand right before I smashed it over Cody's head.  We used it as our Christmas card one year.  {My awesomely organized friend, Meredith, just emailed the snowball pic from our christmas card and I have added it below...Thank you, Meredith!!} Aggie was good at saving us.  She once ate a bee that was about to sting me...then her face swelled up where it had stung her inside her mouth.  Another time, when we lived on the ranch, she chased away a pack of coyotes.   She was a good dog and she is probably playing frisbee in heaven now.

I took a few last minute photos.  They are silhouette because at the end she really wasn't looking good and we don't want to remember her that way.

And looking back on some of our favorite moments with Aggie:

Aggie loved to ride on the boat and she always sat right up front like this

on the boat (scanned...not sure why there's a line thru it)

Helping me paint

Aggie saving Cody from the snowball...she could really jump.

Playing dress up with Annabelle

Getting tucked in by Annabelle

More dress up

relaxing in the backyard