simply give: the glove give

i thought this quote was really awesome for this upcoming week:

Let's not only give thanks, but give others a reason to be thankful.

it is stinkin' freezing outside in ohio. i always feel so bad for the people  i see walking up and down the streets and sitting at bus stops.

so, hunter and i decided to do something about it today! 

carter wanted to stay warm in his jammies so he didn't come with us. {and this busy mama had no time for make-up, so no judging people,wink}

we took an hour to go to the store and pick out 6 pairs of gloves (we already had two), we made a note and enclosed it with the gloves in a Ziploc baggie. we then looked for bus stops and benches that we see people waiting at for the bus and dropped off our gloves.  it became almost a "game" for Hunter....he loved scoping out the streets and would yell "look mom" when he found a bench. 

our note said:

 here are some gloves to keep you nice and warm, 

through this cold weather and winter storm.

may God bless you and fill your heart with cheer,

to pass onto others all through the year.

{yes, that was made up by yours truly, haha. that was the best i could do}

we left 6 pairs at the first bus stop, and took the other two to other benches we found.

this was so much fun to do. Hunter would run up to a bench, put the gloves down and would run back to the car with the biggest smile on his face. 

in between the stops i would talk to him on why we were doing this. i was telling him that he is so blessed to have a warm house and a warm car to drive in, and some people don't have either or even a pair of gloves to keep them warm. 

i encourage you to involve your kids in giving this holiday season{and all through the year}. not only does it teach them the importance of giving but it also makes them realize how blessed they are.

make sure and make time to make somoene's day through this busy week. whether it's dropping off some gloves to a bus stop on thanksgiving day, giving up a front row parking spot on black Friday {ahhh, don't know if i could really do that, haha}, buying someone's coffee behind you, or as corney as it sounds, just be extra nice and smile at people. 

i had to share this pic with you, these sweet boys took time to rake their aunt's leaves a few weeks ago. at the time the pic was taken, they were going on 3 hours of raking and without complaining! such sweethearts and what a great way to involve your kids in showing kindness to others. thanks for letting me share this christy! p.s. since the snow started falling the past week, look for an opportunity to send your kids to the neighbors to start shoveling! 

pillow talk.....

there isn't a better feeling then waking up to my hubby and actually being able to have a conversation in bed. this is one of the reasons why i love getting away with just him. how often do you really get to talk to your spouse without the kids busting in the room.  i can not tell you how many people have said  "you are leaving your kids for a week?"

yes. we left our kids for a week...to spend time together, uninterrupted. there is no sharing our food, no schedule around nap time, no wiping butts in the middle of dinner {which is oh so appetizing}, it's just he and i doing whatever we want.

i get that it's not everyone's cup of tea to leave their kids for a week, but i think having some alone time is essential in having a successful marriage. i know as a mom its easy to get wrapped up in our kids. we build our life around them, which is a good thing...as long as you are building it around your hubby too. when i hear people talk about not wanting to leave their kids or "its been 4 years since we have been overnight together, i could never leave my kid"  i am thinking to myself  "do you forget the reason you have your sweet babe? your husband."

i do have to say we have been blessed with wonderful parents that encourage us to get away, and if you have the same take them up on their offer. your kids will literally be spoiled by them and might not even notice you are gone!!! our parents are both doing so many fun things with them that it totally eases my mind and lets me relax.

i encourage you to get away , even if it's for one night. and really "getting away" might be shipping the kids off to mimi and papa's for the night and relaxing in your own home "away" from the kids. it is so good for your marriage. it shows your husband he is a priority, and your kids that mommy/daddy time is important.

it's so nice being together

just a little marriage humor for you :)

SIMPLY GIVE: THE $20 GIVE

a few years back i did a thirty day give, which was a ton of fun but i wanted to make things simple this november
 {mainly because i don't have time to blog every night with 3 crazy kids running around}

if you are looking for a way to be a blessing this november, set a budget on how much you can give and see how people you can bless, spending only that amount.  i picked the amount of $20 and would like to show you how many ways you can give with it, even if you literally only have 25 cents to give.

i know that people are in so many different financial situations and may see different things about giving to others and think "i have no extra money to give. things are so tight." i was delighted to see a friends post on Facebook the other night, about how things are tough for her and she literally didn't have the money in her budget to help someone but she did anyway. she was at the grocery store and the lady in front of her didn't have enough money for her groceries, she herself had just enough money for her own. without even thinking she took out her debit card and paid for the lady's groceries. 
after the fact, i had messaged her to see if i could share her story, she told me the money she used was allotted for their cable bill, but they would go without it  this month. she walked away.... on top of the world and had commented that the  "high" you get from helping someone is the best feeling ever. 

more people need to be like this. that's why i am encouraging you to do whatever you can this month to put a smile on someones face or really be a blessing to someone in need. and even though we don't give to get, i really believe you always get blessed back!

i am going to continue to spend my $20 through the month, but here are some examples of what the kids and i have done so far.....

donated a $1 to st jude's

the boys each left 25 cents in a candy machine for the next kid that came thru

i always let the kids get one thing for themselves. i think it's important to let them know its ok to want things for yourself but you should always want to bless others too.

{spent 50 cents}

i left a quarter in my shopping cart at aldi. i have been doing this since i started shopping there. i am always digging in the bottom of my purse when i get there to find one! it drives me crazy, haha!

{spent 25 cents}

don't mind my kids cheesy smiles and the clothes they picked out themselves.... we took flowers and a sympathy card to our  neighbors who just lost an uncle that they were really close to.

{spent $5}

today, i paid for the person behind me at dunkin! 

if you do this and don't want to risk the person's order behind you being over  a certain amount, you could just purchase a $5 gift card for the cashier to give them towards their order! i did that one time last year because there was no one behind me and it turns out a high school friend's friend got it and posted about it on facebook! such a small world!

{spent $4}

we bought gloves at marc's to leave at a sarta bus stop to keep someone's hands nice and toasty. i got the adult pair for $2 and the child's pair for $1. i always see people walking down the road or huddled in a bus stop when it's cold. some of them with out hats and gloves. the boys and i may go back and buy some more pairs and take a weekend to deliver these to any bus top we see sometime in december.

 {spent $3}

ok, so total, i spent about $13.75

and gave in 7 different ways. 

see how far you can stretch your giving budget to bless people over the holiday season and get your kids involved!! this goes to show you no amount is too small. the next few weeks, the kids and i will see how far our remaining $6.25 can go!