Catching up to cross the finish line

Serving the ER Staff-
So as Christmas approached everything began to pile up and I obviously got behind on my blogging.

In a whirlwind I cant remember what each days activities we completed but I will report on the things I remember most ;)

On Christmas Even we baked cookies and took them to the ER in Bartlesville. When I went to the check in desk the receptionist was confused thinking I was delivering for a patient and I had to tell her NO these are for the STAFF. She asked if I worked at the hosptial and I told her nope we just wanted to thank the Staff for working on Christmas Eve when they'd rather be with their families I'm sure. She could see Caleb was with me and knew it would be a meaningful moment to take them back himself- so she escorted us back into the ER to hand deliver the cookies ourselves. Most of the Nurses and Drs were busy with patients but the one Dr who was available came out from around his desk to get down on Caleb's level and Thank him for thinking of him and the nurses. Everyone we passed was soooo moved and thankful for our simple gift of cookies and thinking of them when everyone else is at home with family.

I guess most people remember the police and firemen but few remember the hospital workers? So we will be adding this to our list of continued acts.

Sorry I forgot to bring my phone in to take pictures with.

Serving the starving around the world-
Today we had the extreme privilege to join another family in our church to pack meals with an organization called Kids Against Hunger.

We set up an assembly line to pack Fortified Rice Soy Casserole packets that are literally shipped around the world.
We set out to pack for two hours and for those of you who work on an assembly line you know that monotonous repetitive work can be a challenge for adults but add kids into the mix and it gets interesting. The kids helped for about as long as they could before we let them be kids and go play then the adults kicked it into high gear!

We were planning on packing 30 boxes but decided to pack 33 since that is a full pallet. The numbers are astounding. ONE packet feeds six people- I doubt one packet in America would feed a family of 4 let alone SIX!!!
As you can see from the picture I took showing the math- we were able to pack 7128 MEALS in 2.5-3 hours of our time. I think that's time well spent!!
We will be going back!!

Look for my BIG SERVE wrap up soon!!

Doubling Up

Like I previously stated we are having a hard time getting a project done each day so the days that we can get two done- we go for it!!

On Wednesday we hosted a blood drive for OBI (Oklahoma Blood Institute) at our youth center. We made them monkey bread and GOOD coffee for breakfast; something we started this last year and do it every time they come to our building. They seem to really enjoy it and told us that people often make donations for the blood donors but rarely is anything given for them. They are always very thankful!

Also, on Wednesday we were able to do for a second year of taking lunch to Caleb's teacher at school. This year because he goes full day I was able to bring him lunch as well and eat with him. If you have a school aged child I encourage you to visit for lunch a couple of times a year. It will renew your vigor to pray for your child's teacher for sure!! I can tell not many parents come because ALL the kids are hanging all over me and I have to remind them I am Caleb's mom and I am here to hold his hand :)


We are having fun repeating some of last years favorites and picking out some new ones....Id' really like to hear from you and any projects you've done this year.

Day 17- serving the seniors

Running low on ideas I recently saw a sandwich board on our "downtown square" area that advertised a Socks for Seniors donation program to benefit the local nursing homes. Since Caleb's PreK class visited a nursing home twice a month last year I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to help out.

We went to Wal-Mart picked out a package of men's socks and a package of women's socks and we were on our way!

The lady at the donation site was VERY appreciative of our contribution and allowed Caleb to tell a few stories that only make sense if you were there but she humored him anyway :)

 Of course asking Caleb to pose for a picture- gets sassy attitude and striking a pose

Day 15- using FREE resources to make a BIG impact

So I got Caleb's hair cut at JC Penny's right after thanksgiving. On Sundays they have a promotion (I've heard going on in-diffidently) for FREE Children's haircuts. While at his hair cut I was given a little button and told I could grab as many as I'd like- sooooo I did.

These buttons have codes on the back and you enter them on the JCP website and you have the chance to win $5 & $10 gift certificates to be spent on items $5 & $10 or more. There are also chances for trips and bigger prizes. Well I quickly began winning $5 & $10 gift certificates EVERYDAY (you can enter 2 button daily). We used our first round (since we don't live near a JCP- we have to wait for the weekend when we can make it somewhere bigger:) on little gifts here and there. BUT when Jeremy told me he needed to go back to Wichita and would take Caleb with him I had an idea!

Since I organize and coordinate most of our projects I thought this would be a great opportunity for the boys to do a project on their own. Armed with $40 in gift certificates the boys headed to JCP- yes 10 days before Christmas they went to the mall!!

They picked out toys that would end up free or cheap- using the gift certificates and then donated them to Toys for Tots. Armed with $40 worth of toys the donation location was VERY thankful for our contribution!!

Now, many people think that they can't take on an undertaking such as this- that they barely have enough money for their own Christmas. Well I challenge you otherwise! On this project we spent $8 (it could have possibly been less had I been there ;) and made a $40 impact!!! There are ways to make an impact for cheap and sometimes even FREE. You just have to THINK and search for opportunities!!

I'll leave you with this post I found on Facebook that made me cry and challenged me to do MORE! I want to be inspiring toward others. Remind people that others DO care and that God is the mastermind behind it all!!!

Getting caught up and staying ahead

Well this is what I have determined. With Caleb in school full time and our entire family participating in our after school program 5 days a week- it is near to impossible to do a project that involves a majority of our family. Last year I was able to get quite a bit done WITH Caleb before he went to school but these year it seems as if there aren't enough hours in the day to get projects done during the week. :(

We have a pretty good routine down and its pretty packed from the time schools out til the time we all hit the sack. I have tried to do my best to squeeze in projects where I can but some days we just fall short. And because I don't aim for this blog to be about singing our praises but to give ideas, start discussion etc.... I thought I would go ahead and share this struggle with you as well.

We try to get as much done on the weekends as possible but with being in the ministry there isn't a whole lot of down time to get extra stuff done on "working" days; let alone the fact that its Christmas and there are extra activities anyway. Any ideas from you all as to how you get your special projects done during a normal day?

Just to give you a heads up of what we still have to come:

- Toys for Tots shopping and donation
- Buying dinner for a family in crisis 
- Teacher lunch
- Possibly cookies/brownies for police and firemen
- Visiting nursing home
- Gas purchasing
- Socks for Seniors
- ???????
- ??????
- ??????

TEN MORE DAYS TO GO- LETS DO THIS!!!

Day 12- Giving stuff away

I had NO CLUE what I was going to do for today's project but I was inspired by another persons FB album giving stuff away on a FB buy/sell group that I belong to. So I gathered up a lot of the stuff I've been trying to sell and put it in a NEW album and titled it FREE. Simple. Easy. Gets some unneeded stuff out of my house. And helps others who maybe want/need it but cant afford it at this time of year! Nothing overly noble :)

Day 11- serving those who make us look GREAT

Caleb has a very special place in his heart for our hair dresser, Miss Hope. He regularly asks to get his hair cut, even when its only been 2 weeks since his last one! He is very helpful and loves to sweep up his hair afterward and she always has a candy for him at the end.

So we took her a card with a gift certificate for a few Happy Hour pops to brighten her day several times!

BTW, Caleb says he didnt know when they were taking the pic or he would have smiled :)