good memories

i went to bed tonight early for a change...but couldn't sleep! i was thinking about my grandpa who passed away a year ago this week! i have such good memories of him and my grandma both! i will never forget walking into their house and hearing my grandpa say "whoo whoo" when he heard us walk in or my grandma sending us straight to her Tupperware cookie containers! i can even remember the way their door sounded when we walked in! it was one of those screen doors that shut easily and sounded almost like a snake, "siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssss" then BAM smacked shut! 

i went from those memories to thinking about visiting my grandpa in his nursing home. :( so so so sad! i hated that place and would cry every time i left! he was always so happy and cheerful when we came though! and even though he didn't always remember who we were he always had a smile on his face and would wave like crazy! i took hunter in one day and said "look grandpa, its hunter!can you say hunter?" he couldn't get it quite right and the closest he got to saying it was "punta" haha! we all laughed and so did he! he was just happy we all were there! he always wore his Perry panthers hat too, which looked adorable on him! 

grandpa and hunter aka punta :)

sunday afternoon visit

shooting some hoops :)

he was so happy and just a lover of life and people! he would do anything for you! he bought my parents a van one day! my mom always tells me the story how they needed a new car,and were praying about getting a new one but didn't tell anyone. one day my grandpa picked them up and said "let's go, pick out any car you want" not only did he take care of people meeting their needs,but he was the sweetest ever to my grandma when she got sick with Alzheimer. he was taking care of her himself, then had someone help him for a bit but it was getting too tough and eventually the family decided to put her in a nursing home. he was there holding her hand literally everyday, fed her every meal and would just sit by her bed! their love so reminded me of the movie the notebook which is why i cant watch it because it makes me sob!

at my grandpa's funeral, the main focus was his love for my grandma his family and people! one day i will want to be remembered for my love for God, my family, for people! i want to make an impact on people's life, from my family members, to even just random people who pass me by! 

what kind of impact do you make on people's life?
something to think about!


p.s. still miss my grandparents bunches, but so glad i have such wonderful memories and know they are in a way better place! :)

tis' the season of giving

tis' the sesaon of giving! here are 40 different ways you can bless someone! Christmas is approaching, and this is a very happy time for so many people! but this is also a sad time for some, who are all by them self, maybe they lost a loved one, or just having a hard time in life, help cheer them up by doing one or some of these things!

1~visit a neighbor who doesn't have any family (even if you know you will be stuck there for 2 hours)

2~return a shopping cart for someone

3~give up a front row parking spot

4~mail a card to someone

5~have your children color pictures and pass them out to the neighbors

6~invite someone sitting by them self to sit with you when you go out to eat! i'm not going to lie, this is a bit nerve racking ;)

7~pay for someones meal

8~pay for someone's coffee in line behind you

9~write a letter to a solider over seas

10~say please and thank you ;)

11~give someone a coupon  (someone gave me a 20% off coupon the other day and it saved me $10 bucks! who doesn't like to save money!

12~GIVE AWAY things instead of selling them! (is it really worth packing up all your kids clothes and taking them to once upon a child, and waiting around forever, for them to give you 50 cents for a $30 pair of jeans when someone can use them!)

13~leave a note on someone's car

14~call someone just to say "i love you"

15~keep some extra hats/gloves in the car (i keep mine under my passenger seat) to pass out to people on the side of the road that dont have any on!

16~SMILE! be friendly

17~offer your cashier a piece of gum (i did this on black friday and the cashier's said  "yes please! thank you so much" my friend Angelique did this too and she said it really brightened the cashier's mood)

18~take something to work for your co-workers to enjoy, or send something in with your hubby 

19~leave your waitress an extra large tip!

20~ compliment someone

21~help and elderly person to their car with groceries

22~pray for someone

23~buy someone's groceries if they look like they are in financial need

24~turn off the TV for a night and have "real" family time

25~ don't hold grudges (if you are bitter towards a friend or family member or someone, forgive them)

26~hold the door open for someone

27~when you see a solider when you are out and about, thank them for their service

28~pay for someone's gas

29~take dinner to a family who has recently gone through a hard time (i took cookies over one day and dinner the next week to a family who recently lost their wife/mother, and they really appreciated it)

30~depending on if you travel for work, pay for someone's toll

31~get your mailman a gift for christmas (i don't know about you, but i would not like to be delivering mail in the heat, sleet, rain and all the cray weather! i asked my mail man what he likes and he said he goes to subway a lot, so, we will be getting him a subway gift card)

32~buy flowers for somoene

33~do something nice for your spouse, unload the dishwasher, a foot rub, with no strings attached!

34~visit a nursing home

35~ bless a single mom in someway, flowers, a gift card to her favorite place, offer to babysit her kids, make dinner

36~put your change in the salvation army buckets

37~ buy the "bell ringers" a hot cocoa

38~ shovel your neighbors drive way (once the snow starts falling)

39~give an extra dollar to st.jude's when you check out, or get a  toy for toys for tots

40~put someone's Christmas lights up for them (btw, we don't have ours up yet,wink, wink)

(41~ encourage others to be paying it forward!)

this list originally started with 30 things, then grew to 40....it could go on and on! giving isn't all about money, it's about paying attention to someone, smiling, opening a door, visiting with people! show love to poeple this holiday season, you just never know  how your "small" deed will impacts someones life! 

pay it forward poeple!!!!

have a great week! and i'd love to know which things you try!

 i can not get this pic turned the right way!!! haha but,if you can't afford to buy new hats or gloves to pass out, get your child's hats or gloves that are too small (nice condition)  to have on hand to pass out!

a little breakfast item that i am sending into to my hubby's work tom (minus my cupcake pans)

bags of clothes and misc items that i am giving away this week!

5 ways to raise a little nice person

giving is something that everyone should be doing, including your kids!

 here are a few simple things that your kiddos can do to be  a blessing to other!

~give those toys away~

i don't know about you, but my kids have a ton of toys! recently i have been cleaning out our toy room about once a month and giving their toys to someone i know that needs them! plus, it's a great way to de-clutter! i just told my boys, " there are a lot of kids that don't have toys to play with, so go pick out 5 toys each to give to someone that doesn't have any" (and i always add some more)

(please don't pay attention to my tree, it was only part done when we did this a few weeks ago)

~dig in that purse~

hunter and i went to jc penny's one day, and we saw a salvation army bell ringer, so i dug in my purse and let hunter put the change in the bucket (and i didn't just dig all the pennies out, the quarters too,don't be cheap) i explained to him that, the money that went in the bucket went to help people! he also loved when the man let him ring the bell! now, every time we go somewhere, we ALWAYS give the bell ringer money! the other day i didn't have any cash/change on me, and dug and found 2 pennies, so that's what he put in!

 ~side note: a friend of mine took her daughter to the store the other day and they saw a bell ringer when it was freezing outside! so her daughter suggested that they go get the lady some hot cocoa! how sweet is that! instead of family movie night, they spent the evening driving to stores looking for bell ringers and handing out hot chocolate to them! her kids LOVED IT!

 

~dollar patrol~

when you head out to do some shopping, give your child a dollar, tell them that the dollar is to bless someone with! did you ever go to walmart and see the little kiddos there that looks so dirty and their parents only have in their hands what they can afford? well, encourage your son or daughter to give a dollar to a child!

~warm heart, warm hands~

have your child pick out an extra pair of gloves, and take them to school! if they notice that a classmate doesn't have gloves on, have them give them to the child!

(my little givers)

~smile and wave~

there seems to be an elderly person at every store we go to! i'm pretty sure hunter and carter make their day when we stop to say hi! make time, even if you are in a hurry, to let an elderly person gloat over your precious babe!

i encourage you to do one of these things with your kiddos this week! it's never too early to start giving!