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 :)

Day 10- Keep getting CAUGHT!!!

Today we stopped in to a FAVORITE watering hole...some places everyone hits up Sonic happy hour...in Alva....the hot spot it the Rialto Movie Theater, they have walk up non movie Happy Hour prices ALL DAY- its where most people go!!!

Today, thats where our project took us. Again to took a little convincing of the worker that yes I did indeed want to pay for OTHER PEOPLE'S drinks....so I left a tab for the people who would come in after me to receive a FREE drink. Too bad there was a guy RIGHT behind us in line who ordered his drink and told of his good fortune BEFORE I could get out of the store- He thanked me :)

We of course had to get a Dr. Pepper for ourselves while we were there ;)

Simple little things!

Day 7-9 Getting caught up

So our own very busy schedule has gotten in the way of a DAILY service project so we had to combine couple of activities and do them in one day.

Today we did TWO very FUN and REWARDING projects.

First, something we wanted to do last year but again waited too long to get it done and the opportunity wasn't available. We went with the intention of paying off one family's lay-a-way at Wal-Mart. We had a dollar amount in mind that we'd like to stay around but it was hard to find that amount- either some were too high (we wanted to pay it off not just some) or they were way under what we had come expecting to pay. So the workers had an idea to pay two with the combine total of what we wanted!! PERFECT!

When the first associate came to help us she was shocked and felt like she had to go as permission to do such a thing. Once she had gotten permission, I had one associate and TWO managers helping me with our project. They kept going on and on about us and our family and how amazing what we were doing was. And I over and over told them how blessed we are and we are just trying to help others be blessed! The associate even let me write a little note to each family saying "Merry Christmas- Pay it Forward When You Can".

What a rush that was!


Next we participated in You've Been Jingled This was probably by far one of our favorites yet! We filled 8 bags full of goodies and a sheet with instructions and took them to 8 friends houses, left them on the doorstep and RAN!! As Caleb got more courageous he would ring the doorbell or knock. We did get caught one time but only once out of 8 isn't bad :)

The point is- when you've been Jingled you hang a sign in your window that you've been jingled (so it doesnt come back to you) and you secretly take another bag of goodies of your choosing with directions to a new house and so on and so forth.

Thats what really got Caleb excited- when we started thinking about how many people could be having fun like us "Jingling" others and how many people would be blessed by getting goodie bags!!

Also, I was able to take the opportunity to explain to Caleb through both of these activities why we do things in secret. Its not to give our name glory but to point everything we have and all we are to Jesus!!!! We had sooooo much fun tonight- thanks for letting us share. And remember you can start a Jingle all on your own without getting one first!

Just for fun I have some video of Caleb jingling and running!! ENJOY!!

Day 6- Serving is Contagious

I am soooo excited that we were able to make today happen!! I wanted to make this happen LAST year but acted too late so I started with a plan this year to get this done EARLY (well I beat the deadline by one day)

Today we signed 50 Christmas cards that will be delivered to soldiers who are in the hospital during the holidays. What a simple and easy way to say thanks and spread some holiday cheer!!!

Through the Red Cross' Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign we are sending our Christmas cards to military men and women who might not otherwise get any and/or won't be home for Christmas.

What is even more awesome is the fact that this serve project was CONTAGIOUS. Since Jeremy runs an after school program 4 days a week we dont have much time during the week at home that we aren't eating dinner, going to church events or getting ready for bed; so we had to work on this project at our youth center. Student after student came by wondering what we were doing and I told them signing cards for soldiers in the hospital- almost everyone of them immediately asked if they could sign as well. By the end each card had more than 10 names in it!! One student even asked if we could go buy more cards to sign!

It was so much fun to have this project reach outside our family and into our students we work with.

I'm sorry to report this is more than likely you will not be able to join in with us on this project as cards MUST be postmarked Dec. 7 2012 (which is tomorrow) to make sure they get to the distribution center on time. If you act fast you can get a couple in the mail tomorrow. But you can also put it on your list for next year. If you plan properly this the cards can cost as little as $.30 for a box of 25 if you wait for a 90% off sale! BAM! Saving money AND doing good what more can you ask for!?!?!!?

One additional note: when sending bulk cards- they want them loose with no envelopes in a big envelope that will help the processing of them. Save your self the frustration of buying 50 stamps when you can just ship them together for $5!!! Lesson learned!

Day 5- secrets and encouragement

Some days I am reserving the right to keep our projects hush hush. Day 5 was one of those days...be confident we are out there making a difference in people's lives.

One encouragement I want to give. We recently sold a few things on FB/Craigslist that we had been trying to sell FOREVER. Well just like that TWO items sold FAST. I am going to take that EXTRA money to fund our projects! I firmly believe you can't wait til you can afford to be generous- generosity begets generosity!!! I can't promise how it will come back to you but I can promise you WILL be blessed for your generosity. Jeremy and I were just talking yesterday at how blessed we are with electronics over the last year, few of which we have actually paid for out of pocket. And I told him I firmly believe we are blessed in part due to our generous hearts. I don't say that to be haughty or think highly of myself or encourage you to give so you can get but simply to share that we are BLESSED beyond comparison and we LOVE to give beyond comparison. THAT is my challenge for today....look where you can start giving TODAY- without reservation just do it!

I did read a story on a friend's Facebook page that when she was at Starbucks her drink got paid for by the person in front of her and all they asked was to pass it on. The drive thru workers said this had been going on for FIFTEEN CARS!!!

If you need ideas for getting started contact me- I've got soooo many ideas!!! And please please please feel free to pass this blog around to your friends. Its not meant to be kept in a holy huddle. 

Day 4- a simple dinner at home

Sorry this is a little late in getting posted but we were having such a wonderful evening at home with our serve project that I never made it back to my computer to report in on our evening.

Last night we had two college students over for dinner. They don't care what I fix. They don't care how nice my house is. They don't care that my son loves to show off for a crowd. They just LOVE being in a HOME and having home cooked food!!!

As we near the end of the semester most college students are weary and ready for a break. Although, I wasn't able to give them time off of school; I'd give them a break from the monotony of a school cafeteria and dorm living. We sat and shared about Christmas family traditions and the future of schooling and careers.

It was simple at best but a nice way to serve a group of people often forgotten for a home cooked meal and nice conversation. I hope someone reaches out to my kids when they are away a college!

Day 3- Packing food bags, picking up trash and other fun adventures

Today was one of my favorites from last year but I was able to tweak it a little to conform more to Caleb's age and attention span.

Today we worked at our local food bank but this year it was just Caleb, myself one of his friends and his friends mom (who happens to work there :) So we could really taylor the jobs they were doing to their skill levels and attention spans. We had a great time packing bags with potatoes, oranges, toilet paper, paper towels and onions for distribution this week. Caleb also got to stock canned veggies on the shelves. The hit of the day however, was going outside and picking up trash (gloves included!). I think the boys just liked being outside anyway they could b/c they were VERY upset when their bags were full and we were done.















It was a great day and we successfully helped serve at least 20 community families that will receive the bags we packed. We also found out about special project they are working on for Christmas goodie bags they need deodorant and goodie bags- any of my readers have a stock pile or deodorants or Ziplocs? Get with me and I can get them in the right hands!!!

Days 1 and 2- Getting Caught up

We've been busy at work the past two days

DEC 1-December first we kicked off our Big Serve 2012 edition with a donation of popcorn to a couple of organizations in Wichita. Our contact Jen is the founder of ITC SOS who partners with a few other organizations like the OZ and Carpenter Place

Something super simple and easy to do yet makes a difference in the lives of other. Both of these organizations work with teens in crisis and need funds and resources readily available. Popcorn isn't HUGE but I am sure it will get eaten!

Because time allowed we were able to sneak in a SECOND serving opportunity on Dec. 1!!! A simple gesture of asking another family out to dinner and then offering to let their child stay the night. Allows for alone time, time to get extra chores done and get to bed earlier or later with no fighting!!! :) We were soooo happy to bless our friends AND Caleb with a sleepover buddy!!!


DEC 2- Tonight our community hosted a Christmas parade held in our downtown area. Luckily enough we happen to run a youth community center in that same area. With a smidgen of planning (generous babysitting help) and some teens willing to pitch in; we were able to hand out over 5 pump pots of hot chocolate for FREE to watchers. It was truly amazing to watch people open up and receive this gift (at first with great hesitation until they were told it was a gift). With no fanfare as to who we are but with a simple Merry Christmas and have a good night we were able to touch several families with such a simple task.

We've really been struggling with getting Caleb in the mood for service and Ive been pretty disappointed with this stinky attitude- which is the EXACT reason why we are doing this. I want to teach a willing and giving spirit in him from the start. We've talked about greed and what it means to put others first and he was still grumpy and reluctant. But once we got out there and people were so completely receptive to him; he got very energized and was ready for more. "Mom, what are we doing tomorrow?" So, even if you're not in the mood to serve.....give it a try it might turn your day around!!!

 What's up in the days ahead? Teacher lunch. Cards for Soldiers. Paying off someones lay-a-way!!! AND MUCH MORE!!!!

Welcome Back!!

Its Christmas time once again!!! Time for giving and getting lots of goodies, love and time with those you love!! For us its also a time (although we try to make it our goal to serve ALL YEAR LONG) to put a special emphasis on serving those around us and finding unique ways to serve those who serve, love on those who don't get enough love and be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

If you followed us last year and would like to take a look back at our journey in 2011 here's where that blog is located. http://thebigserveofchristmas2011.blogspot.com/

We post our blog and share our stories NOT to get credit for ANYTHING we've done but simply to encourage others to participate with us, to give ideas on how you and your family can participate (no family is too young- we have a 7 mo that will be going along for as much as possible this year).  So I encourage you to join in and write back how you are participating in your own Big Serve!!!

Christmas is supposed to be about Christ's birth,  Good Cheer, time with family and lots of yummy food but it often turns into time of the GREEDY GIVE-MEs as we call them in our house. Last year you may remember that we gave NO GIFTS other than donations to Samaritans Purse in our friends and families honor. I got some backlash about taking away the joy of Christmas for my sweet son. How could I not want to see his eyes on Christmas morning? How could I take away gifts? Now we did do stockings on Christmas morning but if you ask my son if he had a good Christmas last year he would tell you it was AWESOME- presents or no he was with family, ate lots of treats and SERVED LOTS of people. So I challenge you to really think through what makes Christmas the most special time of year. If you stripped away all the trappings of the season...would it be the same? In my opinion the answer would be YES if you replace the material trappings with SERVICE, LOVE, MINISTRY, LOOKING OUT FOR OTHERS along with many other simple and easy ways to love. Now do I expect anyone to do what we did, no but I challenge you to change things up and see what you can do, what you can give up and how you can teach your children the TRUE importance of Christmas (that its not about opening presents for HOURS Christmas morning or who has the biggest pile under the tree).

Now I will start off this blog letting you all know that we ARE exchanging gifts this year but I intend to still GIVE a great portion to charity instead of Retailers. I think both are very possible!

I want this blog to be somewhat of a dialogue where you can write your ideas and projects. Lets take this journey TOGETHER!!! Here we go.......