Week 25 - Support Missions...Success!

So the next week was Vacation Bible School at our church. And one of the activities of VBS is for the children to bring in an offering. This year, the collection would go towards a local family headed to Mexico to take care of an orphanage.

Monday morning, when I picked the boys up from class, Joey was quite animated...he wanted to do some extra chores right away. This was a little unusual for him to be volunteering to do extra work around the house, though.

When I asked him why he wanted extra chores, he replied that he wanted to earn some extra money. So he wanted big jobs, like cleaning the windows, he said. Then he explained about the family that was going to Mexico to help the kids who did not have parents.

Boy, was I proud of him. Joey not only wanted to give money from his own savings, but he wanted extra work to earn even more money to give. So, I found a few extra chores that needed to be done that day. :)

Week 23 - Give a Drink...Succes!

So this last week, I had a short list of ideas so I wouldn't forget about our project again. I wanted to do something simple that the boys would be participating in, not just me.

On Friday, we decided to "give a drink" to random people.

There are only two spots in town that I know of with vending machines (besides the community college and schools), one on each end of town.

First, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up masking tape and get some change. When we got outside, I pulled my Sharpie marker from my purse and wrote on the masking tape. Then, Noah stuck the quarters to the tape, and we pressed the whole thing onto the machine. Nobody noticed us.

20 oz. bottles for $1.25 each

Next, we stopped at a local pharmacy. We took care of our little routine, and again, no one noticed us. I was hoping to see someone walk up to the soda machine before we left, but no luck there.

12 oz. cans for 50 cents each

Today we stopped at the pharmacy to get a couple cans of soda, and the quarters were gone. I don't know if one person took all our quarters, or if they were used one by one, but it was definitely fun to stick them up on the machines!

Week 22 - Thank the Mailman...Success!

Our mailman is pretty nice...

If the boys are outside, he will stop at the end of the driveway to hand the mail to the boys instead of quickly shoving the mail into the mailbox and driving on.

If I receive a package that won't fit in the mailbox, he will place it on the porch, in a spot that is noticeable but not too obvious.

And, the big one for me, he will pick up my outgoing packages, no matter how many, without me scheduling a carrier pick up. One day it may be just 3 small boxes, and another day it could be 22 boxes of all sizes piled high on our front porch.

I have even pulled up next to his little mail carrier truck and handed him a stack of boxes on my way to the post office and then was able to turn around and go back home.

Our mailman always has a smile for us. So when we made cookies on Wednesday, I decided we should share them with our mailman as a "thank you."

Chocolate chip and mini Reese's Pieces cookies

A little handwritten thank you note attached to the bag of cookies.

 I placed the cookies and note in the mailbox along with outgoing letters and packages and went on with our day. I had hoped to be able to watch when the mailman arrived, but it didn't work out with our schedule.

He got them, as the cookies were gone...hopefully he liked them!

Week 21...fail

We have no excuse. We simply did not make our project anywhere near the top of our priority list of things to complete last week, and it did not get done.

Week 19 - Stamp Out Food...Success!

So last week was Week 19, and we participated in the national food drive "Stamp Out Hunger" that is spearheaded by the US Post Office. This is a really cool idea, and the boys got a kick out of putting food into our mailbox instead of letters.

We stuffed our mailbox on Saturday with oyster crackers, elbow, pasta, chocolate pudding, and two packages of wild berry muffin mix - some of our family's staple food items. 

To learn more about "Stamp Out Hunger" - be sure to visit their Facebook page. I was surprised that this was their 20th year of doing it. They are still collecting totals, but the numbers that individual areas are reporting are pretty impressive!

Week 17 and 18 - Shower Someone

The idea for this one was not my own. I had seen it pinned on Pinterest several months ago and repinned it for when we could use it.

These are Blessings Bags (see the original idea here), bags to give to the homeless.

Last week was our first St. Louis Cardinals game for the season, and we parked in our usual spot, walking our usual route down the street to Busch Stadium.

And, we saw the usual people: Cardinals fans, street vendors, and a couple homeless people begging for change.

It didn't sink in until after the game as to what we needed to do. I remembered my Pinterest pin from this winter, and our plan was hatched.

We had been given tickets to another game this week, so the boys and I headed to WalMart to pick up the items to be put into our Blessings Bag. Here is what we decided on:

• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• mouth wash
• comb
• Clorox wipes
• baby wipes
• Tylenol
• first aid kit
• tissues
• bar soap
• shampoo
• deodorant
• lotion
• germ-x
• chapstick
• gum
• granola bar
• crackers with peanut butter

I then slipped all the items neatly into a one gallon ziploc bag and added a Bible verse in the front. We made two of these bags, as we had seen two homeless men on our last walk to the stadium.

So last night was the game. I carried the bags in my tote, and Noah had an eye out for a homeless person to bless. And, we didn't see a single person to give the bags to. We were a little disappointed.

Plan B: pass the bags to our neighbors who are going to the baseball game tonight!

Week 16 - Give a Train Ride...Success!

On Thursday, Jacob and I went to the zoo. One of the special treats for us is to ride the train tour around the zoo. So we figured a train ride would be pretty special for other children visiting the zoo.

First thing we did was to pick up a zoo membership. This made the cost of train rides less than half the regular price. And, we have extra tickets for the children's zoo and the shark exhibit for another day. Bonus! 

As we were walking, we kept an eye out for small families who looked like they would like a random act of kindness. Our first family was a father and his two girls from Kentucky. We asked if they had been on the train yet. When they answered that they had not, I said that I have tickets for them if they would like to ride. The father was surprised and happily accepted the tickets.

The others were the same - pleasantly surprised and walked away with smiles and a little bit more of a spring in their step. The second family was a mom, dad, and young daughter from Hannibal, Missouri. The third was an older man and woman from Robertsville, Missouri, whom we met while viewing the new baby elephant. And the last tickets we gave out as we left the zoo were to a father and son from St. Louis.

The day was beautiful, we had a wonderful time, and we had the opportunity to bless several families. It definitely was a successful day!

Week 13 - Ice Cream (just a little late!)...Success!

Lion's Choice

Today we had to run to the orthodontist...again. Our 8 year old's head gear wasn't fitting properly, so back we go to get it adjusted.

And, surprise!  No more head gear - we are moving on to a full time retainer. So he got to pick out a cool retainer with a design on it, from about 30 choices. Why didn't they have fun retainers when I had to wear them?

So to reward the boys on how well behaved they were at the office, we went to Lion's Choice for ice cream cones.

Our 10 cent ice cream!

Their ice cream is delicious! And, it's only 15 cents for a small cone, or 29 cents for it to be dipped in chocolate. They must have been running a special today, though, as I only paid 48 cents for 4 cones. Yum!

The two unsuspecting vehicles behind us.

Then on impulse, I decided we would pay the tab for the car behind us. Then I overheard the cashier tell the next car their total, which I thought was just 30 cents. Sweet! When the cashier handed me my last two cones, I handed him my debit card and said I would like to pay for the two orders behind me.

He stared at me. He was a little confused.

"The two orders behind you?" he wanted to clarify.

"Yes," I said.

He finally took my card and then gave me the receipts. Both vehicles had ordered 2 roast beef sandwiches. I didn't have time to watch their reactions in the mirror, but I am sure they were a bit baffled. :D

Week 12 - 10 Books...Success!

So last week was Week 12. And we were on track! The boys decided they wanted to purchase some books and hand them out to other kids.

We hit up the store and found a series of Elmo books. I figured Elmo is a pretty safe character for small children. There were 4 different stories, and we picked up 10 books.

Now, we just had to hand them out...not an easy task!

We brainstormed on where we would find a bunch of kids...

the grocery store...but the store might carry books
the park...good idea
a restaurant...good idea
school...won't work out

So the weekend past, and we are now into Week 13, and have yet to start this week's project - yikes! So yesterday I had to run to Home Depot. I thought, "Great! A place with bored kids." I grabbed my tote with the books on my way out the door.

Well, I saw 1 child while I was there, and they were completely on the other side of the store. Fail! But that's okay, because my boys weren't with me, and part of this project is that we are doing it together.

Today, we had the perfect opportunity! The No. 844 steam train was going to roll through the town next door, and we were going to see it. I carried the tote of books, and we gave out our first book before we settled into our spot to watch for the train. But, then one of the boys had to use the restroom...

We used our time to hand out 3 books while at the restrooms...

Then the train came through. During the stop, we handed out 2 books to one family, and then another 2 books to these girls watching the train with their daddy.

With just 2 books left to give out, my 2 youngest boys claimed the privilege of handing them out. When we were nearly back to our vehicle, we passed a brother and sister, and we gave them the books.

After the books were gone, the boys asked for more to give out to the rest of the kids in the area. Whoa! Sorry, boys. I wish we could have, but there was at least 100 kids there with their families.

But I am happy to know that my boys enjoyed giving away the books and receiving the smiles from strangers.