25DG&G: Day 1

Everytime we go to the gym my almost 3 year old insists on holding the doors.  As I am schlepping gym bags, babies and assorted other items, having the patience for this is not always something I possess.  Add to that the fact that most adults using the doors want to hold the door for her, since she is so small and the doors so big, and more often than not I end up standing outside trying to get in.  That and the fact that there are 3 sets of doors to navigate, you see where I am going.

Today however in the spirit of 25DG&G I encouraged the door holding.  Waited patiently as smiling gym goers filed in and my daughter happily told everyone "you're welcome".  Afterward I made a point to say how nice it was of her to be so helpful to so many people hurrying in and out of the gym.  Small act, but lesson learned.  Day 1 complete.

Christmas Countdown: 25DG&G

Inspired by a post I saw on Facebook (okay full disclosure it was by my sister-in-law :) since today is December 1st, here on thlp we are starting a full on Christmas Countdown.  Not a countdown in a traditional way, but a fresh approach to serving others by participating in 25 Days of Giving & Graciousness.

We aren't talking monumental acts of kindness (though those would be certainly be awesome) but everyday making a conscience effort with your little ones to do something kind, considerate, thoughtful, unexpected, etc for someone else. 

Please share your ideas and success stories from 25DG&G and I will be posting as we go!

Halloween's Over....Now What!

Age: 2 and up
Type: Donation

This year trick or treating took on a whole new meaning in our house with a 5.5 and almost 3 year old.  They happily ran (literally) up and down the streets of our neighborhood for HOURS!  To say it was fun was an understatement.  My husband and I chatted with friends and neighbors we ran into as we tried to keep up with our girls.  At the end of the night they both spread out all their candy and we took stock for a moment of an absolute pile of candy.  A huge, chocolaty, delicious pile of more candy then we would ever let them eat.  So now what to do?  Thankfully I found a great website which can be found here. 

Halloween Candy Buy Back has a super easy search which allows users to type in their zip code and find a participating dentist closest to you that will be collecting candy.  What do they do with all this loot you are probably wondering?  The candy will be used to fill care packages sent to the troops in the month of December through Operation Gratitude.  This year Operation Gratitude will be sending 60,000 care packages!  I called the office closest to us and they are collecting candy all week up to 10 pounds.  Haven't weighed ours yet, but I bet we are close to that!

So have your little hearts set aside a few favorite pieces and help you pack up the rest of those goodies.  Some amazing men and women far from home are sure to appreciate your sweet treat!

Back to School Cool

type: donation

age: over 2

Whew, I don't want to say I am a little behind in posting about this, but goodness! As I play catch up with the projects that have been going on in our household over the summer, I hope that you are inspired to get involved with your little hearts!

This year marked a large milestone in our family, as our oldest started kindergarten. Needless to say, back to school shopping took on a whole new meaning! Rather than just fulfill the list for her class though, we decide that this would be a perfect time to give back to others who might not be able to fill their backpacks with new supplies this school year. It turned out our church was collecting school supplies, so we donated there, but I saw many other opportunities through the community to donate. The above picture shows my girls scouring the shelves for 'sale' tags and picking out stuff for the kids. I must admit, these girls are shoppers, so they had a great time!

So when fall rolls around, consider stocking up on school supplies for not just your own little hearts, but those of others as well!