Friday 13

Today's gratitude:
My husband
Taking time to be together, we could have watched tv or I could have gone to a friend's (which would have been fun) but instead we talked. No electonics. Just talking. Dreaming and reflecting. This time is important.
A more organized garage and some space decluttered
Patience
A new day tomorrow
Henry's sweet laugh
Our crazy cat
My instapot
My car
Perspective

It has been a very long time. Not since I've been grateful but since I've been here.
Many things brought me back but I don't need to discuss them now.

I just need to document my heart.

I've had some worrisome moments lately and some challenging times with life balance and trying to figure out what is best for my oldest child. But tonight I am shown that it will be fine... He will be fine. Because he is good. He is kind. Curious. Lovely. Helpful and has good intentions and a truly loving heart.
I practiced today being better for him. Lifting him and encouraging. Not once did I allow myself to shame and humiliate (which, after much reflection, I believe I have been doing). And tonight he complies to requests, played with his younger sister for 3 hours teaching her how to build Legos and pretend. Helped me with his baby brother (I asked for five minutes and he helped for 30), and now he and his sister are under his bed, and he is reading to her. He's been reading an hour. I think he's reading Harry Potter. I can hear his animated voices, dramatic pauses,  and varied tone. I'm so so grateful!! We are doing something right. We have to be...

Today's gratitude:
My oldest son and daughter.
Their relationship, creativity and support for each other.
 I'm also grateful it's Friday. (They can read all night if they wish. These memories will live on in them forever.)
Instinct
Self reflection
Praise
New confidence
One-one moments with our daughter today.

Easter Giving

Tonight our group stuffed Easter eggs for adults with disabilities to find in their residential home's annual Easter egg hunt. 

After the children stuffed eggs with goodies, they decorated cards to bring to a long term care facility. Our hearts are full and spreading love... 

Surfrider Beach Clean-up

Why is protecting the oceans so important... Here are a few reasons:

• The diversity and productivity of the world’s oceans is a vital interest for humankind.
• Our oceans are the largest ecosystems on Earth.  
• We need healthy oceans as they are the Earth’s largest life support systems to prosper. 
• You may not be aware, but our oceans generate half of the oxygen people breathe (so don't just thank the trees).  
• Ninety seven percent of the world’s water resides in oceans. 97% (wrap your head around that).
• In addition, our beautiful oceans provide a sixth of the animal protein people eat. 
• They’re the most promising source of new medicines to combat cancer, pain and bacterial diseases (the.most.promising.source.). 
• Living oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce the impact of climate change.

So the next time you are on a beach take a moment to say thank you to that sweet ocean, and not just for the memories that you are making while playing in it, but for all that the ocean does for you, your children, and your future...

If you are interested in things that you may do to save the oceans, National Geographic has a nice list.

Today our group volunteered to do our part in helping keep our oceans and beaches clean with the Surfrider Foundation. The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network.

With our fabulous children we spent the morning picking up debris at the gorgeous Tourmaline Beach, in La Jolla, CA. The kids found: a Christmas tree, treated lumber, rebar, pots, aluminum cans, pizza boxes, plastics, and decaying marine animals (this was a surprise to us but we encountered multiple animals: a seal, octopus, large fish head, and two dead birds).

It was a nice opportunity for the kids and parents to do something small to help. Every Saturday through-out the year in San Diego county the foundation organizes beach clean-ups. Many individuals volunteer and there are no special requirements or age limits to participate. I highly encourage you to participate if you are able and willing.

Thanks for making a difference.

Acts of Kindness with your Children

I just found a great list of acts of kindness to do with kids. Some are not ones you might do in March but they definitely get the ideas moving along.

1. Leave bubbles on a family’s doorstep.
2. Record a video love-note and text it to grandparents.
3. Send dessert to another family at a restaurant.
4. Pay for the drive-through order behind you. (Something about this makes kids giddy.)
5. Leave a note and candy or microwave popcorn on a DVD rental machine.
6. Help someone load their groceries into their car.
7. Visit a cemetery and tidy up overgrown headstones.
8. Go outside when the garbage truck comes and wave your little hearts out. (A toddler favorite!)
9. Tape change to a parking meter, or run around looking for any that are about to expire and buy the driver more time! (Be warned: Once you do this, your kids will want to do it every time you’re near parking meters. Not a bad thing, though…)
10. Dry the slides at the park after it rains.
11. Take in a neighbor’s trashcans—or the whole street of them!
12. When a sales rep knocks on your door, always give them something to leave with (even if it’s not the sale!). Think: bottles of water or Gatorade, a sleeve of cookies, a travel-size tube of sunscreen.
13. Pick up trash in your neighborhood or at the local park.
14. Take your child’s teacher a box of tissues or a bottle of hand sanitizers. (Teachers can never have enough of either!)
15. Offer everyone in a line a stick of gum.
16. Invite some children over for the evening so their parents can go on a date. (What child doesn’t love the excuse to hang out with friends in their jammies?)
17. This holiday season, buy a living Christmas tree. After you enjoy it indoors for a few weeks, your family can plant it outside. One less tree chopped; one more tree providing you clean air.
18. Bury treasure at the playground. A mason jar filled with small toys or goodies is sure to light up a child’s eyes sometime in the future.
19. Offer to pick fruit from an elderly person’s trees. If you see a tree laden with fruit and know your neighbor can’t attend to it, offer to pick it for them. Bonus: fruit for them and fruit for you!
20. Sponsor a child. Your monthly contribution covers medical and school fees, healthy food, and more. You can also send and receive letters from your child, which makes the experience much more real for children and adults alike. (We have made a commitment to sponsor two children and we would like to think that it is just as impacting to our children as it is to the two children we sponsor).
21. Trade your close-up tickets at a sporting event with a family in the nosebleeds.
22. Decorate the inside of your mailbox, so your mail carriers smile every time they open it. (We've left thank you notes for our mail service workers before. http://thankfullyinspired.blogspot.com/2012/03/mr-recycle-man.html)

I tell you this list is after my own heart.

You can find the more on the list and the original author here:
http://kidsstuffworld.com/2015/02/22-kid-approved-acts-kindness-can-week/ 

Compassion International Experience

Last week my kids and I went with some friends to a project that travels around the country: Change the Story, the Compassion Experience.  

We were able to experience the reality of children living in poverty at Change the Story, Compassion's new, interactive traveling display. 

We took in the sights and sounds of a poor, developing-world by walking through replicated rooms of two children's lives (one from the Philippines and the other from Kenya) and listening to their stories on audio. 

It was a wonderful experience that made a lasting impact on our lives. 

Animal Center

My daughter collected items for a local animal shelter for her birthday. Although this wasn't a Thankfully Inspired group event many of our members contributed to cause.

She was so proud. Her donations filled the bin and helped many homeless cats and dogs.