November 12

Time just slipping away.....

Can't believe it's November 12. I haven't opened my blog for months and months. I think about it all the time when the kids tell me things that happen, or I have a story that I wish I could tell someone.... then my crazy life happens and the thought just slips away. This summer and soccer season were INSANE...and I didn't complete my ONE year blog wish. Dang.

There is so much that came out of the months and that still happens in our daily lives. I see my kids thinking big and outside of their needs all the time. CJ wants to donate all her Christmas and Birthday Money. She wants to buy clothes and presents for kids in need. Just tonight Cole asked me to give him his $5.00 in my purse so he could donate it to the guy freezing outside Walmart, ringing his bell for donations to his red box. Kendall is always helping kids and classmates and her teacher, which her teacher GREATLY appreciates...I don't know if making this yearly deal together changed it, or it's just who my kids are...either way, it makes my heart LARGE and full.

Maybe I'll start writing again now that life has settled a bit as the winter comes in. So much has happened these past months. I keep falling deeper and deeper in love with people, especially my oldies. I just think they are amazing and they make every single day of mine, worth something and great. How lucky am I to work somewhere that I get to love on them, everyday.

So.. here's to a night with two of my kids..by the fire...eating chocolate. There is a pug, snoring really loudly and a few other pets sleeping nearby. Missing my husband at the moment who is paving the way for our next adventure in Colorado. I've come to see that I am pretty good with change and I am up for it. God has had to work that in painfully and I am all the more grateful for it. : )

June 11

Mel:


Today someone was fully bummin at work and they got some really bad news. I went out and bought them their favorite blizzard(I knew from a time before)and brought it to their desk. It was the first time they smiled all day. There really wasn't anything I could do and I know ice cream doesn't solve anything but I just wanted the person to know that someone was thinking about them.

June 10

Mel:


These last few weeks have been INSANEEEEEE!! We had family visit and the kids soccer tournaments and the end of school and so many changes at work. Haven't had time to really get on here and write it up...We all have still been doing kind things. There have actually been some pretty amazing stories too. Don't think I'll ever get back to filling in the missed days. That would just send my brain on overdrive at this point and then I'll get flipped out and never write again, which clearly shows that...well, I apparently have mental issues.

So anyway, we'll start from here and just keep plugging along!

May 13th

Nathan:

So, I go downtown Kansas City, probably 3 to 4 times a week. Just about everytime I purposely drive by "Beggars Corner" (my new name for it) and hand out money. Their are ways that I can avoid beggars corner and trust me sometimes I do when I'm don't have any cash or change but I usually try to go by it (especially to see if the "why thank you, partner" guy is there). It's funny it has come to a point where I feel obligated to give money (it's no longer a choice and I just have too) I just feel way too guilty to try to ignore the man or woman with the cardboard sign that says "will work for food" or "Hungry, anything will help....God Bless" or my favorite "Let's be honest, I need a drink" how can you say no to that? I'm growing attached to the "Why thank you partner" guy we basically have no interaction but I still look forward to seeing him on Beggars corner and am generally dissapointed when he takes the day off. This particular day he was there I pulled up and picked up four quarters, rolled down the window and handed it to him. He of course says "Why thank you partner" I give my usual respone (a nervous laugh and say your welcome) but this time he says "maybe I'll run up to that there Burger King and get something to eat with this" and I respond by saying "don't go to Burger King, go to Sonic" the stop light turned green and I drove away. It's a start maybe in the future who knows maybe we will have a real conversation or maybe even become friends.

May 12th

Nathan:

Another dollar goes to my favorite homeless guy and of course he say "why thank you partner". I have to come with a better response instead of just laughing and saying your welcome.

May 11th

Nathan:

I saw and employee at one of my stores working really hard. So I decided to give him one week of free food. I had thank you cards in my truck and so I wrote him a thank you note and then gave him a coupon that said one week of free meals. He was extrememly pleased with the fact that I actually noticed him.

May 10th

Nathan,

Gave another dollar to a homeless guy on the corner. He said thank you partner. I said your welcome and went on my way.

May 9th

Nathan,


For Mother's day we made breakfast for Mel and gave her flowers and cards. Unfortunately, Mel had to spend all day at the soccer fields on mothers day.

May 8

Mel:


Today I did a thing I never wanted to do ALL MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I woke up at 5:30 to drive 45 minutes to work SNACK BAR for 6 HOURS STRAIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! One of the kids teams needed volunteers....they weren't getting the huge response needed. We were electively doing it so the kids wouldn't have to pay for the fall soccer league. Nate and I would most definitely rather pay $300 for a soccer season(it's not that much!) then ever give up 6 hours on a weekend to work snack bar. Since some of the parents really wanted to do it for financial reasons I buckled down and volunteered. It turned out to be one of the longest weekends of my life so far....Nate and I were going to split the shift but when I saw him roll into bed around 2:00 from training a new manager there was no way I would ever have him help. So happy that it's over..haha

May 7

CJ:


Today a girl in class couldn't figure out a math problem and she missed it. I was the only one in class who got it right. So I went to her and helped her out and explained it to her. Then she told everyone else how to figure it out!

May 6

Kendall:


Today at the end of the day, I was picking up trash and my substitute gave me a wonderbuck!

May 5

Cole:

Today I gave a friend a snack and he was so hungry. He didn't get enough food at lunch and I thought it would be nice to help him out.

May 4

Cole:


At school I helped a kid by hanging out with him during lunch and by sitting by him when noone else would sit by him. I sat by him and then my friends came over and sat with us.

May 3

Kendall:


I wanted to bring my teacher a flower to school. Mom said it was OK that I did and when I got to school i remembered I had a sub. She left a note for my teacher with the flower and she got it the next day. The next day she was happy at her desk!

May 2

Mel:


Today in line at the store I gave some extra money and told the cashier to pay for the next person's item. It wouldn't be enough for a cart of groceries..haha But hope they were blessed.

May 1

CJ:


I saw lots of litter in the parking lot at soccer. I picked up all the trash I saw and threw it away!

April 30

Kendall:


Today there was a new boy in class. He didn't earn any smarties because he was talking too much. Maybe I think he didn't know to be more quiet. I gave him half of mine to eat.

April 29

Mel:


Today I went and picked up a part at a store for a friend's lawnmower. She doesn't know it yet but I'm not going to let her pay me back for it. Hope it's a nice surprise.

April 28

Kendall:


I helped my class by picking up all the trash on the floor. There were papers and other stuff I don't remember what they all were. I didn't pick up any tissues. Some wrappers and other stuff too.

April 27

Kendall:


At school at the end of the day I helped my teacher stack all the chairs. My teacher decided to give me three tootsie rolls and they were lemonade/strawberry ones and they were good!

April 26

Mel:


I went and had lunch at CJ's school and brought with me three large Hershey Bars. I knew she invited two friends to have lunch with us. It was like Christmas morning getting large chocolate bars at school! haha They said thanks and scarfed them down. I also learned that if I was 14 that one of the 4th grade boys would have asked for my digits.....ummm..

April 25

Kendall:


Today in the parking lot I picked up all the litter that was around and put it back in the trash can. Mom was scared about cars but watched me and I was ok!

April 24

Kendall:


When I was cleaning the art room, I rememberd my teacher needed more pencils for class. I found a lot of ones we hadn't used and I put them in a bag. I found a bracelet I wanted to give to my teacher too. She was happy about it.

April 23

Kendall:


Today at the store I remembered that our teacher needed some snacks for class for the kids. I asked Mom if I could get some goldfish and I put them on my teacher's desk. I think she was happy.

April 22

Mel:


Some days are better than others...one of my friends was having one of the rougher type of days. I ran by and picked her up a bag of twizzlers..strawberry...her favorite! She was happy even though I was ruining her diet. Maybe diet's make people have bad days... hmmm.

April 21

Kendall:


At our church it was Awana store. I had lots of money and this girl didn't have any. Maybe she had only a few. I opened my money folder and gave her a $5 and a $1 dollar bill so she could have money to spend at the store.

April 20

CJ:


One of my friends in school was upset about a grade on her report card. She was sad and couldn't get it out of her mind. I told her that I would help her with any questions she needed and she could always ask me. Then I told her she should talk to our teacher about it. So, she did and we found out there was a mistake on her grade and she had an A!

April 19

Mel:


Today I filled my basket on my desk up with tootsie rolls. Bought the biggest bag there was and watched all day as they disappeared quickly. Staff and residents LOVE tootsie rolls and a $5.00 bag was gone just....like...that. : )

April 18

Kendall:


I helped clean up my brother's room and it was a mess. It took a really long time and I helped him put his clothes away.

April 17

Cole:


Mom and I were in the store picking up some snacks. I had my own money and thought about what my sister's would want. I bought them stuff with my money so Mom didn't have too.

April 16

Cole:


My sister had to fold lots of laundry for a punishment. I saw that she could use some help, so I helped her out.

April 15

Cole:


Today this guy was hungry and had eaten all of his lunch already. I gave him my tater tots.

April 14

CJ:


I have a friend who really loves this famous guy singer. I remember that I had his CD. So the next day I thought I should give it to her. I brought it to school and gave it to her. I did a trick to her. I put it in a different CD case and then she looked a little disappointed. I told her to open it up. And it was the CD that she wanted. She was so excited and thanked me! She really likes it.

April 13

Mel:


There is a resident at work who is a lot of fun. She is pretty with it and younger than lots of our other residents. She LOVES to talk and comes by my office everyday. Sometimes if I'm working she just likes to sit in there, even in the quiet. I was busy but made time to make copies of her coloring book pages for her. I picked the ones out that I knew she would really like..no snakes, they scare her! I had them ready for her and she was so happy. She talked for a while and as she was wheeling out she said, Melanie thanks for always taking the time to talk to me, I love talking to you. Oh holy cow..that wrecked me.

April 12

Mel:



Today I bought some more sodas for co-workers. It's funny how little things can make your day so happy! I would be happy with a surprise candy-bar. A surprise Cherry Limeade, a surprise anything. Love making people's days a tiny bit better.

April 11

CJ:


In the store parking lot, I saw lots of trash all around. I went and picked it all up and put in in the trash can. GOING GREENNNNN!!!!

April 10

CJ:


Today when we were at the store and we were in the parking lot I saw a kitty under our car. I told mom and dad to not move the car. We pulled her out from under our car and brought her home. Her name is Sam and she is WILD! We rescued her and made her part of our family now!!

April 9

Mel:


So I don't like grocery shopping anymore. Takes FOREVER..I use to like to do it when I stayed at home. Now I just like to be home... so going to the grocery store becomes a very annoying chore. I went to the store and in the front there were sign up tables and a little granny standing there trying to get you to go to sign up. She says..please go and sign up for a new card. I say, no thanks I have a card. She says, oh no..this is a NEW card and it's got EXTRA benefits. Me, well I am in a rush today so I think I will stick with my old card. She says, Oh it only takes less than 1 minute! Please go and get a new card.....oh boy. She was so persistent and looked very sad I would not get a card. I say, OK. I went to get a card and well..wouldn't you know. They somehow manage to cut up my old card before they scanned the new one. So I had to re-enter everything and.....my less than 1 minute turned into about 15!! haha OK God... So, the granny came over and said.. Honey, I am so so sorry this is taking so long. Then I felt like I was ruining my kindness by listening to her because I probably had a total sour face going. I said, Oh no problem, it's all good! I got my new special card and while I was checking out I saw loads of people ignoring her and walking by... even though it slowed me down and gave me a little grump, I am glad I stopped for her.

April 8

Mel:


Today I bought two people very large fountain sodas. I am into large sodas and so are they. I did it to where they didn't know it was me and they thought they bought them for themselves. Hopefully they don't count their change correctly! : )

April 7

Cole:


I bring two snacks to school everyday and sometimes one of them gets stolen. One got stolen today and someone wanted my other one. I figured who cares and I gave the guy who was asking my snack.

April 6

Kendall:


At school I saw trash right by the trash can and it was on the floor. So, even though it wasn't mine. I picked it up. My janitor saw me. He asked, was that yours? I said, Nope. He was happy and gave a school wonderbuck!

April 5

Cole:


At school this guy wanted a brownie, so I knew I had one in my backpack. I took it out and let him have mine. He said, thanks.

April 4

Mel:


Today I did something I wasn't to excited about. Someone asked me and I did it! I decided to TRY to not complain terribly and to have a good Mel attitude and go with it. Thought about God and worked it out!

April 3

CJ:


One of my friends fell and popped her ankle in P.E. Class. She was hurt and couldn't walk because it hurt so bad. I ran over there and helped her up and helped her finish the rest of the pacer so she could get a good grade.

April 2

Mel:


Today at work there was a band playing. They are a bunch of old retired gentlemen who come and play for an hour for the residents. Friday's are SO busy for me so I'm usually hustling around when I have to leave my office. I was walking out to get a paper signed when I saw one of the male residents in his wheel chair reaching out for me. I said, hey how are ya! He said, Dance with me honey! My brain was trying to stop me from saying yes and to get that signature and get my email sent off asap but instead, I grabbed his hand and we danced like fools. He tried to spin me while sitting in his wheelchair and I about fell flat on my face. We laughed and I told him that he's still got it! While walking back to my office I was stopped by another resident and she said, Ohhhh honey you like to dance?? I said, well yes I do. She said, well dance with me! She was in her wheelchair and started dancing around. I started moving my hands like a lunatic and laughing with her. Later in the day she saw me and said...honey thanks for the dance~

April 1

Mel:



I made a conscious effort to let everyone in front of me while driving. If they were trying to turn out into the street or parking lots, I stopped and waved them in. Some people waved back like crazy people, very grateful. Others just took their spot and seemed whatever about it.. haha CJ said, Mom you are such a nice person. I said, why's that? She said, you are letting people go in front of you all day. I didn't tell her my plan, it was funny she noticed it and thought it was kind. I wonder how many people do nice things for us and we never notice. I hope to start noticing other people's kindness from now on....

March 31

Kendall:


I was at school and the next day we have a special book signing in the cafeteria. So this girl wasn't done with her final copy of her book. So, I asked if I could help her. Then it was recess time and I asked to stay in with her and miss recess and help her finish. We got some work done on it.

March 30

Mel:


Somebody needed some bills mailed at work. I wasn't going to the post office that day but offered to take them and get them mailed out for them. They were so grateful~

March 29

Mel:



Someone we know needed their taxes done and having done taxes for a few years I volunteered and they accepted. I was happy to be able to do them and got them some money back! : )

March 28

Kendall:

At lunch, sometimes I pick up the trash that isn't mine. I pick it up off the floor and the tables and that's all. : )

March 27

Kendall:


When I was coming out of the bathroom in the hall at school, I saw this girl had dropped all her stuff. She aske me to help her pick up her papers and I said, sure! Then while we were picking it up my counselor came down the hall and asked, what are you doing? I said, I was helping her pick up her papers. Then he said, that was nice.

March 26

Mel:


Today I helped move residents rooms. We are having the roof re-done at work and housekeeping is having to move rooms like crazy. This afternoon I volunteered to help out. We moved dressers, TV's, Beds, and cleaned out the closets and bathrooms. Was cool to be able to help out a bit.

Some funny things at work lately.. We have a resident who recently turned 100. Since turning 100 she has become quite sassy and this is accompanying serious Alzheimer's. So, this makes the days quite fun. She has told me within the last week that I need to be on some serious medication because something is clearly wrong with me. She told me today that if I put her name on the document(not sure which one) she was going to sue me for every last penny and she is to be taken for her word! A few days ago she told me that if she caught someone thieving on her farm that she would get a shotgun and shoot every last one of them and she has every right to shoot whoever she wants to...if I thought about thieving well, she would have to take me out too.

Oh man..I just love my residents..love love love.

March 25

Nathan:

If you remember my stories from the past about how I always drive by homeless people begging for money. Well sometimes I give money and sometimes I do the avoid the eye contact thing (usually because I don't have any cash). Well on this day I had a couple of dollars and when I drove up to the usual corner people are begging for money there was this new guy so I rolled down my window handed him the cash and he said "Why, thank you, partner" with a southern accent and a coy smile on his face. It made me laugh....even the homeless can have a sense of humor. I'm not so sure I would if I was in his shoes.

March 24

Nathan:

On my way to work sometimes I stop and get Mel from the Harrisonville Sonic (not mine) a Rt. 44 Diet Cherry limeade with extra lime and bring it by on my way to work. I always seem to have the same carhop who delivers my drink. The general rule is that when you order from a stall and the carhop brings you out a drink you tip them. Well a lot of times I don't have cash and I pay with a credit card (you can't tip on credit cards with sonic), which means I have no money to tip the carhop. Well this time I had cash and instead of just giving the carhop 50 cents or a $1 I gave her a $5 tip to make up for all those times I've gipped her in the past.

March 23

Mel:



Oh man...I let a woman go in front of me at Taco Bell. She seemed to be in a hurry and so I said, oh you can go on ahead of me. She just walked by me with a bit of an attitude which I assumed was just because she was in a hurry. Wow...I stood behind the woman for a good 7-10 minutes in line. She asked about every item on the menu..what was in it. Made a few orders and then cancelled them and wanted something different. The cashier looked at me several times with very sad eyes and whispered sorry once. I just smiled at her even though I wanted to kick the lady and tell her I takesies backsies letting her go in front!! She was finally finished and the cashier said to me.. OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!! I laughed and the cashier vented a bit to me. So interesting how things play out... : )

March 22

Mel:


We were driving in the car and about to get on the freeway when Nate and I noticed a car pulled over and two elderly people walking around their car with their doors open. Nate pulled over and they told him.."Thanks!" then they got in their car and shut the doors and drove away..haha! Oh well..sometimes it just goes that way.

March 21

Mel:


I wanted to talk about Nate...he did something really kind for one of his co-workers and I know he won't talk about and I won't tell the details but it was incredibly generous and kind of him!

March 20

Mel:



At work one of the residents wheeled by my office and she was upset and crying. I overheard her asking one of the nurses where the Social services director was. Her office is across from mine and I could see that she was gone at lunch. I yelled into the hall and asked if she was OK. She said no that she wasn't and went back to her room. I sat there for a few minutes and couldn't take it anymore. It's not really my place to work out things for the residents but I figure me going to check in with her had to be better for her than just sitting in her room being upset/sad with no one to talk too. I went in and asked her what was going on and she is one of the residents who is totally with it, mentally. She explained what was wrong and she had a total valid concern and was so sad and upset. I listened and rubbed her shoulder. Prayed for her without her knowing and then told her that I would get the SS director down to talk to her as soon as she got back. I found her when she got back from lunch and she went down and talked with the resident and worked it out for her!

March 19

Kendall:



In school there was a girl who wasn't really being good in class. So I thought to try to help her be good. At lunch I told her advice and then at math class I did too. She was still a little bad, I was trying to help her make a change. But we'll see.

March 18

Today was Cole's birthday. Year 12~ We spent the day celebrating him and it was an awesome day. The girls each wrote special cards for him and I was so blown away at their ability to express themselves. Cole is an amazing son and the best big brother a girl could ask for. Love you Cole!

March 17

Kendall:


At school there was a fight at the back table about a crayon. So, this girl had one sparkly crayon and the other girl had a whole bunch of sparkly crayons. The girl who had one was going to use it for her writing workshop. The girl who had a lot said, THAT WAS MINE! Then they fought over it. My teacher took it away from them. I had two sparkly crayons so I first gave her a brown one and then she said she lost a blue one and I looked and I had a blue one, so I gave her my blue one.

March 16

Kendall:


When my Nana and Papa were here, I had a dress that I bought with my own Christmas money . I thought I should give it to my cousin Amaya. I gave it to my Nana to put it into her suitcase and bring it to her. Nana said she wears it all the time.

March 15

CJ:


I was at lunch and then I remembered I wanted to give a girl a fruit roll up. I looked in the snack bin and there weren't any there. I thought, what should I give her?? Then I remembered that I had gushers to give her. So when I went to her, she said..you don't have to give me that. Then I said, I just want to give it to you.

March 14

Cole:


I was at school and this guy stole my Easter Egg Brownie that I was very eager to eat because they are so good. This other guy whacked it out of his hands and I dove for it and got it back. I had a giant slim jim and I decided to give it to him. He was like..ahhhh thanks!

March 13

Kids:


While out on vacation, I called and found out that all the kids were DEEP CLEANING! Well, they did so with the encouragement of their Nana who supervised and surely got her hands in it as well. All their closets and rooms looks AMAZING and Nana had them working for us for their act of kindness~

March 12

Mel:


Our Activity Director is without and assistant. She hasn't been able to replace her and with 90 residents and 8-10 daily activities planned, her days are long and full. She had a snack auction planned and it was big doings... Lots of snacks and the residents all had fake money to have a bidding war. I put my work down and went out to help her. It was hilarious and long and there was no way she would have gotten done without help. The event took about 2 hours and I was glad to help. She came by my office and wanted to buy me an ice cream or limeade for helping without asking. I thought that was super cool of her to offer. I declined and felt that the benefit of making her day a little better was the coolest part of my day.

March 11

Mel: Nate and I went on vacation for a few days to Boston/New Hampshire/Maine...it was a really great break and much needed time away/alone. My parents watched the kids and I think that act of kindness made my year..haha We are a bit behind on posting, I have to gather the kids tomorrow and write their stories~ Here are mine....


Sometimes it's hard for me to write my acts of kindness when they have to do with my residents at work. I feel like I don't know if I'm cheating because I am getting paid for being there. My job requirements are in the business office. I find myself, my heart getting wrapped up in the residents more and more. We've had quite a few deaths lately and I've been sad. I keep thinking of the ones I have started to love and spend time with every day and I know their time is short. I look for any and every opportunity to talk to them and walk with them when I am going from place to place or they come by to see me. Sometimes I feel like I can't write about it, or I shouldn't. Like it cheapens it or I don't want to seem like I am being nice to them because I have to..I don't really know what I'm saying I guess. Anyway, here are a few.


Housekeeping brought me a wallet of one of our residents. They had accidentally washed it. He was sick in the morning and they didn't see his wallet get caught up in his clothes and bedsheets. I took it and he had quite a lot of money for a nursing home. A few hundred dollars in there. I went to his room to let him know what happened. He was laying in bed and is always the neatest guy to talk too. I told him what happened and told him I was going to spread all his money out in his drawer to dry it out and he was to PUT IT BACK in his wallet asap. He told me he would and he promised. A few days went by and I ran into him and asked if he put his money back and he said he hadn't but that he would. The next day, he told our Administrator that he couldn't find the money and he thinks he either misplaced it or it got stolen. Sadly, lots of people steal from our residents. Sometimes it's staff and sometimes it's other residents not really sure what they are up too. I was CRAZY!!! I went into his room and looked everywhere. Housekeeping looked everywhere. It was no where to be found. I felt horrible and sad. I went into my Administrator's office and he could tell I was messed up over it. I just couldn't believe someone would take from him, it blew my mind. He called in a charge nurse and told her what was up. She said she would take a look. She walked back in about a minute later with a bag of prunes..wadded up in the bag were 200 worth of wet money! He had put it there to be safe. Surely, no one would look in the prunes. haha. I about cried I was so happy! I took that money and wouldn't give it back to him until It was totally dry. I set it out behind my desk, watched it all day and when it was dry, I put it in an envelope and put it in my safe. I wasn't going to give it back to him unless I watched him put every dollar back in his wallet. I guarded that money like it was a baby for the next week. : )

March 10

CJ:


When I got on the bus, I sat next to a boy. He talked about how these two boys have these really cool tech decks which are little skateboards. He talked about how they do all these cool moves. I thought for a second...I pulled out one of my tech decks I had in my backpack. I gave it to him. He said, thanks. After that, I taught him two little moves. When I was talking to someone else I saw him playing with it all the time.

March 9

CJ:



Today when I got on the bus I was talking to this guy. I asked him what does he do at recess. He said he probably always goes on the swings to watch people. I said, well you should really try something new and not do the same old thing everyday. He wasn't sure about it at first. Then, he said he probably wasn't going too. When it was recess time, the first thing I saw was him playing kickball and so I ran right over there and said..GOOD JOB! He said, thanks.

March 8

Kendall:


We were going to bed and Cole was reading to me. So, after he was done with his book, he told me to get more books and I picked up two books. I got tired and Cole asked me to get his pillow for him. I went and got his pillow. I made sure to turn out the lights in his room and mine.

March 7

Mel:



At the grocery store I was in the 12 items or less line. There was a woman in front of me, who clearly did not have 12 items or less. As a matter of fact she had 34 items. I had time to count them while we were waiting. There was a woman behind me who was seriously unhappy about the 34 item situation and that woman blatantly ignoring the line she got in. She was talking pretty loudly and was getting angrier as the 34 item woman was complaining about a cereal that she said was 25 cents more than it should have been. My plan was to let this woman cut in front of me.. but not until 34 item woman had left the line! I didn't want her getting closer to the woman at all. 34 item woman left and I had the woman behind me go ahead. She smiled and relaxed and was grateful. Funny, I found myself counting her items and maybe would have been annoyed myself if I wasn't concentrating on the woman behind Me's irritation. Probably only took an extra 5 minutes and shouldn't really have been that big of deal...Yet I did count her items myself....haha

March 6

Cole:



Today we were at a water park with our family. I was floating down the lazy river in a two person tube. These girls were standing there and they wanted a two person tube. They asked if I would give it to them. I said, sure they could use it. They said, really? Thanks.

March 5

Mel:


I see one of our CNA's eating Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. If I ever fill my candy basket on my desk up and she knows I have them in their she comes by to visit a few times and gets herself a treat. Today she was having a rough day....she looked so exhausted and worn. While I was out I picked up a King Size pack of Reeses and delivered them to her when I got back. She was so happy and I was stoked to brighten her day a little bit.

March 4

Cole:


In Math Class this girl needed help with her math problems. She needed to see if they were right so I offered to check them for her. I helped her get them all right.

March 3

Cole:


A guy was hungry at lunch and he didn't have a lot of food. He had a bag of little cookies and I decided to do a trade to him. I offered him all my tater tots for one little cookie. He took the deal.

March 2

Kendall:



When we were lining up for recess this one guy called another guy,"little kid" and he told me what he said. I decided to stand up for the one kid. I asked the guy how old he was and then I told him that the other kid was older than him so he shouldn't say that to him.

March 1

Today is CJ's 10th birthday! We all spent the day being kind to her and it was fun~ Happy Birthday CJ..We love u.

February 28th

Nathan:

Today was my day off and I was doing work at the house. I had to run to Home Depot to get some supplies and while I was there loading supplies into my car I noticed an eldery gentleman having trouble loading his truck with plywood. I offered to help load his truck he said sure and so I helped him load his truck. He was very thankful.

February 27th

Nathan:


First of all I would like to apologize to those of you who have been following this blog and my family. We have still been doing nice things every day and are still on schedule but the family has been waiting on me to post my nice things. My apoligies to all I will try to do much better at keeping up and doing my part.

Saturday Feb 27th, my nice thing for the day was while I was at work we had a customer who car had died in one of our parking spots. I had jumper cables in my car and I offered to help jump start there car. There was a mom and 3 kids and while they were waiting for me to start there car I had my employees bring out some free drinks on the store. I got the car started and they were very thankful.

February 26

Mel:



I've been trying to get a vanilla milkshake for one of my residents all week. I know how much she loves them and the last one I got her, just made her day. Two times this week Burger King was out of shake mix...but ALAS..TODAY they were not! I stopped by on my way back to work and picked up a large Diet Coke for me and a Vanilla Milkshake for her. She was eating lunch when I got back and I walked it into the dining room and put it by her plate. She looked at me and said...FOR ME!?!?!? I said, yes ma'am. She thanked me and I saw her wheeling around for the next two hours with it in her lap, taking sips. She would yell to me...LOOK WHAT I GOT!! And then wink.. so cute.

February 25

Kendall:


Because my Dad works for Sonic he has lots of sonic coupons for free stuff. So, I asked my Mom if I could have some. She said yes and I gave 2 of them to my bus driver. She said, thanks and that she's beginning to like that place now. I gave 2 of them to my teacher, I forget what she said. I gave one to a friend of mine. When I was in my classroom by the air conditioner thing and I accidentally dropped a sonic card in there that I was going to give to another friend. I told my teacher and she told someone at school and they couldn't get it out and they were going to fix it tonight.

February 24

CJ:


It was recess and these two boys were playing a board game. I went to watch them. There was this boy that was cheering for one of the boys and the other boy got mad at him and said that he was going to rub peanut butter all over his face. The boy is really allergic to peanut butter and could die if he touches it or is by it. One of the boys told me that the boy who is allergic was over in the corner crying. I went over there and asked him what was wrong. He didn't want to tell me. I told him that he should talk to someone and explain what's going on. So, he then said he would talk to our teacher. After that, recess was over and I sat down. A boy that sits by me told me the story. I went to the boy who said that mean thing and told him that he is wrong and should never do that again. The boy could die from that and it's not funny. He said.. OK. And that's the story.

February 23

CJ:



So, we were in class and we were doing this math project which was really hard. There was this boy that was sitting right by me that was stuck on his work. So, I went to his desk and explained how the problem worked and then he figured it out. I was happy to help him out.

February 22

Cole:


My mom drove me down to the busstop and we stopped in front of our neighbor's house and I took her trash can up to her garage for her. I made sure to take mine when I got home from school too.

February 21

CJ:


Well, my Mom told us to clean up the downstairs living room and it was really messy. Cole and Kendall were playing a game. I told them that they could keep playing their game. I cleaned it all up by myself. I was proud.

February 20

Cole:



My Dad was working hard on our house. He was pulling up carpet and pulling staples out of the wood and pulling out our old wood floors. He's getting ready to tile. I thought I should help him out. I got the wheelbarrow and loaded the wood and pieces in it and took trips down to the fire pit. It was snowing and icing up but it wasn't that bad. I wanted to help Dad out.

February 19

Mel:



I hate writing February..It just never looks spelled right. At work I have a routine. When I go to the post office and banks I swing by a gas station and get an extra large Diet Dr. Pepper. When I was at the gas station the woman who works there was ringing me up and we were talking about the weekend. She was excited to have 4 days off in a row and then she told me..today is my Birthday! I said, Happy Birthday and then I took my drink out to the car. I got in my car and I thought...she just told me it was her birthday, I should do something for her. I went back in and she wasn't behind the counter anymore. There was a guy there and I asked him what she liked to eat? I asked if she liked candy...he said, NO...NO?? There's a woman on this earth that doesn't like candy? I don't even understand that..so I was looking around for cookies and muffins, I didn't have a clue what to do at that point. She came walking back in and he yells to her..Hey, what kind of candy do you like? She yells back... I don't like candy. Then he looked at me and I started laughing because we both understood that her not liking candy was crazy and now what was I going to do? Then he says..You know, She LOVES cini-mini's from Burger King! Burger King was attached to the gas station. So I got super excited and ran next door and picked up some cini-mini's. I had them in my hands when she came around the corner at the same time I was coming around. I said..HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! She said, No way!! haha Thanks sooooo much!! And we laughed a bit and I told the guy thanks behind the counter for the tip~

February 18th

Kendall:



I was in class and we were doing writer's workshop. There was a girl and she was finishing her story's final copy. If she didn't finish she wouldn't be able to go the non-fiction party. She asked me to help her. I said yes and I helped her finish her final copy and she was able to go to the non-fiction copy.

February 17

Mel:



Today at work was pretty busy...lots of things to catch up on and just happened to be one of the days that the residents really really wanted to talk! I had resident after resident wheeling in and starting to share stories. I was made for stories..I love them, I love to hear them and could possibly be addicted to listening to them. Sometimes it goes in waves where they will be in and just want to say hi but other times they will want to sit and share for a long time. I know they need that time to talk and I am working in their home and am totally privileged to share this time with them. I found myself struggling to keep up on work and give them attention...I decided to put my work down anytime during the day and pay attention to each resident and give them my total focus. Which meant that I might have to work OT or work super speed the next few days to catch up. Lots of good stories on this day...One resident wanted to tell me all about how Elvis was coming today and she was going to sing with him... : ) it was worth it.

February 16

Kendall:



When I got to class this morning, I got a box of crayons out of my bag. I put them on a girls' desk. The one who didn't have any of her own crayons. When she got to her desk she said, Whose are these box of crayons on my desk? Then she said to me, Are these your crayons? I said, No. I said, I gave them to you! I forget what she said. She maybe said thank you. Then she shouted out...KENDALL GAVE THESE TO ME! I was happy.

February 15

Cole:


Mom, Kendall and I were at Target doing some shopping and I pulled a cart out for Mom. She said she didn't need it and so I saw a bunch of people walking in and going to the cart section. I kept saying, here is a cart..here is a cart for you...here's a cart..and for some reason everyone kept smiling and no one would take a cart from me. Mom laughed and told me to come here. I guess that just happens sometimes?

February 14

Today we all showed kindness to each other...it was a really great day. We had fun giving cards and surprise gifts and spending time together. Pretty great to be in LOVE with your family...

February 13

CJ:



Daddy's friend has a little puppy that we babysat for the weekend. Dad and Cole had to leave to Cole's soccer game and Mom was doing her paperwork so I took over all dog responsibilities. The puppy was crazy and hyper and cute. It was an all day job and I think I will never want to get a puppy again.

February 12th

Nathan:


I want to talk about something Cole did on Friday that really impressed me. There was no school on Friday so the kids were stuck with me for the day driving in my car. We made a stop at the store to get some cards and a family Valentines present for Mel. While at the store the girls and I stuck together and Cole took of on his own to find a belt (because the boys way to skinny and his pants are always to big). When we met up with Cole he had a whole bunch of items in his hand. He had his belt, 3 Tech Decks (finger skateboards)a nerf axe and a nerf sword. I was like, wow, I thought you were just getting a belt. He then told me it was his day to be nice so he had bought his sisters the tech decks along with getting one for his friend. The belt and the axe were for him and the sword was for his friend because his friend is always giving him things when he's over at his house. So we get to the check out line and Kendall is a sucker for all the gadgets they try to sell you while waiting in line. She is always trying to get me to buy something she sees. Well this time she wanted to buy a box of crayons (along with a gazillion other things) and Cole remembered her telling the story of a girl in her class who doesn't have crayons and he told her he would buy the crayons for her to give to the girl. Kendall liked the idea and said she could give them to her on her kindness day. I then intervened and said that I would buy them for Kendall so she could give them to the girl. I first bought the things I was buying and then Cole bought the things he was buying. Come to find out while at the check out line (me having no clue) Cole put the crayons in his pile and payed for them himself. I didn't find out until we were in the car when I overheard him and Kendall talking. It was something he just wanted to do. In fact I didn't even know it was Cole's idea until we were in the car. Cole really impressed me that day and I am extremely proud of his act of kindness. What an amazing kid.

February 11

Mel:


Today marks the day of completing one month of our mission...crazy. I already see changes in my kids and I am excited to see what happens the next 11 months. I have had people email me privately about being inspired to start their own mission of kindness and it just blew me away. Month 2...here we go.


I picked up a valentine's bag and bought some valentine paper to go with it. I filled it with lots of valentine candy and made it look really pretty. I had Cole and Kendall hand deliver it to our neighbor. She wasn't home but they left it on her doorstep. I got a call on my cell that night from her. I missed the call but had a voicemail that said...Hi Melanie this is ____ I think it was probably you who left that beautiful Valentine bag of candy for me and it was you who left the candy for me a while ago. I just wanted to say thank you so much, it was so thoughtful and you are so kind to think of me.....I listened to it twice and had Nate listen..... It really is just knowing that you are thought about, that makes all the difference. That YOU crossed someones mind. Simple as buying a candy bar for someone or letting them have the bracelet they admire. Giving them your box of crayons to use when they don't have one or giving them your chips when you think they might be hungry. Spending time to make sure they get all their math right and giving a waiter at a small restaurant the biggest tip he's probably had in a while...I am happy to be sharing these memories with my family and to be hopefully giving glory to God while we do it.

February 10

CJ:


I was in class in the morning and we were all working on our planners. There was a girl in class who walked by me and she said, Oh I really like your bracelet. I said, thanks. Then I said, WAIT, do you want it? She said, no at first. Then I told her that I don't really care about the bracelet and she can have it. She said, Wow thanks so much! I took it off and gave it to her.

February 9

Kendall:


I was in class and we were making something that I can't tell my Mom about, in case it's for her. So anyway, we used our crayons and this girl in my class doesn't have her own crayons. I was done with my crayons and she asked someone else if she could borrow theirs. The girl said, NO! I walked to her desk and gave her my box of crayons. I forget what she said, I think she said..Thanks.

February 8th

Nathan:


Today was a snow day. The kids and I were stuck at home all day. It was CJ's day but she was stuck at home. Around 6pm Mel and I started to get a craving for some Ice Cream, that's also when we realized that no one had done anything nice for someone today. Mel told me that I should buy someone in line at the grocery store a candy bar. So that's when I planned to do but when I went to the grocery store it was like a ghost town and there was no one in line anywhere. So I got in line, kind of nervous (really think I shouldn't be so nervous 29 days into the 365 days of kindness) and there was an older lady at the counter checking out my Ice Cream. She was extremely cheery and made a joke about my Ice Cream. I asked her, if she could eat a candy bar right now what would it be? She said that she was a Snickers girl. So I said, snickers it is then and grabbed a Snickers bar. When she scanned it she said are you having this right now or should I put it in the bag? I said it's not for me it's for you. She said, oh thank you and started waving it in the air to the other cashiers saying she got a snickers. She then asked me why I bought her the snickers and I told her it was for being so kind. She said thank you for the compliment and told me to have a nice day. While driving in the car on the way home, I started thinking that people probably don't buy cashiers candy bars very often or even compliment them very often. I know I don't, not nearly enough, in fact I usually try to go to the self checkout lane just so I don't have to have to have any human contact. I guess I'm going to have to start waiting in line again.

February 7

Mel:



We taught Sunday School in the girls class(CJ was spending the night at a friend's). Cole came into class with us and was amazing. He got Kendall to help him put out all the chairs without asking. He spent time and talked with the little kids. He lined them all up to get a drink of water, one at a time and ran back and forth with each one to the fountain down the hall about 20 times. He prayed and played with them. He was a champ and showed us kindness with all his help and we totally appreciate him...he wouldn't have said this about himself but I was so proud of him. We also made sure to give away the extra box of mini cakes we brought to a kid who has 5 brothers and sisters. Hope they can have sweets!

February 6th

Nathan:


Saturday, I was out at one of my stores and when I got there the manager was having a really rough day. The flu bug must of hit his store (either that or because it was Saturday) because everyone was calling in sick. It was busy and he needed to still go to the bank and also drop off product he borrowed from another store. Seeing that it was getting close to lunch I volunteered to go run his errands for him.

February 5

Cole:



Yesterday at school I was in Math class and there was a guy who needed help with his worksheet. It was algebra and it was a little hard for him. He said he was having a hard time and asked me if I could help him. I said sure and I went over and helped him with his worksheet until he got them all right.

February 4

Mel:



There is a Magnificent Mennonite Bakery that brings baked goods about once a month to our office. I have ordered so many different things from there and I have fallen in love with their Jalapeno Cheese Bread! It is heavenly...the cheese and jalapenos are all wrapped through it, on top and it is so tasty. I order it every time and this last time I ordered two. They delivered them yesterday and you can imagine I was pretty excited. One of the ladies I work with, when I talk about the bread(because I talk about it a lot)comments on how it sounds good and she needs to order it next time but keeps forgetting. They brought all the goods and had my bread with my name on a tag in black marker. No one else orders that bread, so they know me by name. And they also spell Jalapeno wrong..makes sense since nobody really eats those around here, so why care about details like that...Anyway, I was so excited about my bread and carrying them around like little babies when she said, oh those look good! I knew that I should part with one of my bread children and let her have it. I went to my desk and took a black marker out and scratched my name off, then I wrote her name on it and put it over by her desk. She wouldn't accept it and was trying to pay me...I told her that you can't pay for gifts but thanks anyway. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did last night...Because it's already gone and I will be thinking about it for the next 4 weeks, until we meet again....

February 3rd

Nathan:


I don't know what it is but whenever at a grocery store or a walmart I always have the worst luck in choosing a line. I always pick the shortest line but it always seems to be the slowest line. Well yesterday I was in line at Walmart with two people in front of me (the shortest line) and ofcourse I had the slowest cashier on the planet working. As I stood in line it took about 5 minutes for the first person to get done which is not to bad but the second person in line took forever. She had like 10 items but they were apparently not scanning correctly or didn't have anything to scan. They kept on having to call people up to go find out how much the item she was purchasing was. After about 20 minutes I started contemplating on jumping in other lines like 5 people deep. But I didn't want to walk away and get in another line and then see my old line start moving. There was a old couple behind me and they were starting to get very agitated and I overheard them talking about how they were going to be late to a doctors appointment. Meanwhile I'm seeing the other lines moving very quickly and seeing that if I had made the decision to switch lines I would have been out the door. This whole time I have been in line I'm trying not show how annoyed I was for the wait. The lady at the registar kept looking at me so I'm sure my effort to look calm was not working. Finally after like 30 minutes I was up and knowing how frustrated the couple was behind me I let them go before me cause it sounded like they needed to be somewhere soon and I still had a little bit of time before I needed to be somewhere. They were very grateful.

February 2

Kendall:


Last night, I was thinking about my friend who's birthday is today. Her birthday is on the 100 days of school party too and that is awesome! I thought I should make her a present and bring it to school for her today. I made her a fan and a card. I hope she likes it.

February 1

CJ:




I was riding the school bus in the morning and there was a boy who sat next to me. We were talking and he had his lunch bag on his lap. I asked him what he was eating for lunch today. He opened his bag and there wasn't very much food in there. I asked him how come his lunch was so small. He didn't say anything. I asked him how come he doesn't buy school lunch? He said that it cost too much money. I pulled the Doritos out of my bag and told him that I wanted him to have them. He at first wouldn't take it but I told him to please take it. He did and said, thanks. I was hungry at snack time because I didn't have a snack anymore but I was happy that I gave him my Doritos to eat.

January 31

Cole:


We were in St. Louis for the weekend and we were out eating breakfast this morning. I made sure to take all the trash to the trashcan for my whole family. When I was walking back I saw that there was an old man about to get up and take his table's trash. I asked him if I could take it for him. He said, why sure! So I was able to help him out a little. I made sure to hold the door open for my family and any other people , wherever we went that day too.

January 30

Mel:


The act of kindness shown on this day was from Nate....He had spent something like 40 hours working on a secret project for me. He gave it to me on this morning....Was the most heartfelt and special thing he has ever done for me...Blew me away....completely.

January 29

Mel: About my kids


We were driving out to pizza last night and we were talking to the kids and had asked Cole if he had a story for us. He was pretty sure he forgot to do something. As he talked about his day..he told us this story and was totally unaware of the kindness he had shown...

There was a girl on the bus and she told me that she knew someone who liked me. She told me to come sit by her so I went over and sat with her. I asked her, who liked me? She said she would tell me later. I thought that she was probably the one who liked me and was afraid to tell me. She handed me a note that said...I'm the one who likes you I think..maybe. There were boys sitting next to us and had seen that I had a note in my hand. They grabbed it and read it and were yelling, Cole has a girlfriend. I looked at her and she had her head down and looked embarrassed. The guys asked who the girl was and if it was the girl next to me. I told them, it wasn't her, the note was from another girl at school and I just pulled it out to read it. They were cool with the answer and just kept on with the Cole has a girlfriend song...

Nate and I looked at each other and were like.. Oh wow...Cole. We told him how blown away we were by his maturity and kindness for the girl. He completely guarded her and was so kind. We told him..mission accomplished today, son....

While we were waiting to meet friends for pizza later that night we had about an hour to blow. We thought CJ had soccer practice so we were early. Practice was cancelled so we took the kids to Burger King to hang out in the play gym for a bit. It was pretty packed in there and full with lots of kids and parents. The kids went to play and about 10 minutes in, Cole and CJ and Kendall come angry and sitting in front of us. They were really upset about something. CJ looked like she might kill someone and she kept looking back at the playground. Cole was shaking his head and Kendall just was sitting there(smiling as usual)looking at her bro and sis. Nate asked them, what was up? There were two kids there playing and they had to be about 4(girl) and 2(boy). They looked like brother and sister and they were Chinese. Their parents were white and much older and we could hear the parents talking to a friend about visiting China and their experiences there. Well, apparently there were some other kids in the playground who were being so mean to the kids. A girl about CJ's age and some other kids. Calling them Chinese kids and telling them to get away from them and saying GROSS every time they came around. This did not sit well with my older two at all. They came to the table furious and plotting about how to protect the two little kids from the bullies. Talking about how they might have to get physical if the bullies hurt those little kids AT ALL. CJ then told us that the little boy from China had a wooden leg and could barely get up the play gym. We looked at the kids...told them thanks for wanting to handle the situation, be smart and don't go looking for a fight with those bullies but handle what you have to handle and great job keeping an eye on the little kids. The older two stood up and were whispering to one another. I said, Hey what are you two up too? They turned around and smiled and CJ says... OH you know US! Nate and I laughed so hard.. we do know them. We know that they will stand up for other kids.....Fight off bullies and handle it. They aren't afraid to help someone or step in when it's the only optin. My kids stayed with the two little kids for the next half hour until we left. Going up and down the slides, playing hide and seek, helping the little boy up the gym and Nate and I were super proud of them and all I can say is my heart was swollen.

January 28

Mel:


There is a resident at work who is very sweet to me. She brings me things and leaves candy on my desk. She once snuck her lunch out of the dining hall and wrapped a piece of fried chicken in a plastic bag and was smuggling it to me in case I was hungry! haha I have heard her talking about milkshakes a few times before..vanilla milkshakes. I thought about her today when I was out running errands for work and stopped to pick up a vanilla milkshake. You would have thought I brought her a million dollars. She was so grateful..asking me if I could please take money out of her account to pay me for it. Which I did not do....Oh man, a plain vanilla milkshake can make some one's average day, great...I'll have to pocket this one and get her on a milkshake rotation!

January 27th

Nathan:


For those of you who don't know, I run fast food restaurants for a living. I currently work for a restaurant that has a position that we hire for called a carhop. A carhop is much like a waiter but it's a little different. They get tipped like a waiter but usually only up to a $1. Anyways, a few years back at one of my restaurants there was this customer, a lady, who drove a nice white Cadillac Escalade. She would come in and order a Rt. 44 Diet Coke with extra lime once a month. At the time the drink would only cost her $1.07 but when the carhop delivered the order she would tip them $20 (for Christmas she tipped $50). She was a legend at this particular store for my carhops at the time. Everyday, the carhops would be looking for the "Diet Coke with extra lime lady," if the drink was ordered they would rush to the window and see if she was out there and if she was they would either argue over who got to take out the drink or they would make deals to split the tip money. It made there day when she did come.

Last night, Mel and I, dropped the kids off at Awana and went to a Japanese restaurant to have sushi. When I got the bill I remembered the Rt. 44 diet coke with extra lime lady and decided to tip the waiter $30. My back was to the waiter so I didn't get to see his reaction but Mel did. She said at first he looked confused when he looked at the tip but then he looked excited. He then ran over to the waitresses and showed them the tip and they were all kind of looking at us wierd. But our waiter was all smiles and you could tell he was proud. I think we made his day. When driving back to get the kids Mel was telling me the story of how he reacted and I was all giddy inside. Now I think I know why the Rt. 44 diet coke with extra lime lady does what she does. It not only makes the day of the people she tips well but it makes her feel good too, by making someone elses day much brighter.

January 26th

Kendall:


Today I had a substitute teacher in my class. I don't know why but I don't remember what we were doing in class. All I know is that the teacher saw a book laying on the ground. She told my class that the person who put it there needed to pick it up. Nobody moved or picked it up or said it was their book. I was thinking it could be nice to just go pick it up, even though it wasn't mine. So I did. I like what we're doing.

January 25

CJ:


There was a boy in my class who was having a hard time doing his Science work. If he didn't figure it out he would have to have homework and miss recess. I could see that he was upset and getting sad about it. I decided to go over and help him with the problems so that he could play at recess and not have homework. He was happy that I helped him and I was happy too!

January 24

Mel:



Today, we were out running around going to home remodeling stores our(Nate and I) most favorite thing to do lately and we stopped at a new place for lunch. We were about to leave and I needed to use the restroom before we left. I heard someone talking really loud and I didn't know if there was an argument or what was up. My girls were waiting outside for me and they were looking at the register. CJ said, "he is so cute" and I looked over and there was an older man at the register who was smiling really big and talking really loud. He had some sort of Mental disability and was trying to order. He placed his order and then walked away to look around at something else. I heard a noise and turned around and he dropped a whole bunch of change all over the floor. I looked at my kids and they headed over to help pick it up for him and he was grateful to them. While they were doing that I went to the register and said I'd like to pay for his lunch, please. He said, are you sure? But of course...so I was able to sneak it in! As we were leaving I heard the guy at the register say, It's been all taken care of buddy and the older man said..by who!?! And that was the last thing I heard as I ran out the door and got into the car. You never know who you are going to meet during the day...God did and I was beyond happy to be able to buy that gentleman lunch today...

January 23th

Cole:



Today, Mom had us cleaning up and I wanted to show kindness by asking what else I could do to help. I took out the trash and cleaned my closet really good. Mom did the best job because she cleaned up downstairs even though it was our job. So it was really Mom's kindness day.

Engaged in the pursuit...

Mel:


"We have only to keep the end in view, and have our hearts thoroughly engaged in the pursuit of it, and means will not be very difficult.” William Carey


When we started on this mission..Jan 11th, we chose that day for a reason. Jan 11th was our 13th Wedding Anniversary. We wanted to give year 13 back to God in a way, if that's even what we're doing, I don't know. I do know that the last 13 years have been quite a journey. We've been through lots together. Places, Sickness, Death, Birth, Pain, Joy...surviving things I wouldn't think we were capable of surviving. We are two broken people who love a Whole God...that much I am sure of. Today my heart is engaged.....I know that there is much for us to discover still. Purposes that we have yet to know. The day is new each morning and if we still have breath, we will always have a chance to keep fighting..... Year 13, we'll see...I am engaged.

January 22

Mel:



It was pretty sweet to come home last night to a clean closet, kitchen, laundry and have dinner being made. It was a bright spot in what feels like a long week. Today was a fun day with the residents. They are some of my most favorite people. They truly make me laugh everyday. On the way home, I was thinking about my neighbor and I thought I would buy a bag of Werther's Original candies and slide them through her doorknob. I hope she likes Werther's! I have seen a few of the residents with them and one of the residents left some for me on my desk a few weeks ago and I think they are tasty! Hope she opens her door and smiles tonight and has herself a candy.... I'd sure like to have candy on my door someday..that's for sure. Haha

January 21st

Nathan:


For my day I mixed it up a little. I was sitting at home getting ready to leave for work when I looked at my cabinets and thought I really would like to finish sanding and staining them. It's a project I've started and am finding it hard to have time to work on them. It would have been nice to play hookie from work and continue on with my sanding project. But then I started thinking about other things around the house that Mel and I have found hard to keep up. For the last 5 years since we moved to KC, Mel has been a stay at home mom and recently she started working a full time job. Which means the kids and I need to pick up the pace on helping around the house more in order to keep it up. Sad to say we have done a very poor job of that. So it hit me that today my act of kindness needed to be to show Mel that I am committed to helping out. So that's what I did. I did the dishes, folded laundry, re organized our closet and did some detail cleaning in our bedroom. I also wanted to give the Mel the night off and went to the store picked up a movie Mel's been wanting to see and prepared some dinner for the family. When Mel got home, to her surprise everything was taken care of so she was able to take a bath, eat a very average meal, read a little out of her book, and watch a movie. Although the night turned out to be a success I learned a very important lesson and hopefully the kids and I can continue to show kindness to Mel and understand the sacrifice she is making by going to work full time and that we all need to consistently do our part in helping around the house more.

While folding the laundry and playing hookie from work (don't tell my boss) I watched a movie that I rented for the whole family to watch. Thankfully to Mel's wisdom she said it would be best to watch the film before allowing the kids to watch to make sure it was all right. I'm glad I did because though the movie had a good message it had some adult situations that might have been inappropriate for our kids to experience and the ending was completely devastating. The movie that I watched was "Pay it forward". It's a story about a kid (Trevor) who is given a homework assignment at the beginning of his 7th grade school year. The story starts out with a reporter who gets his car totalled and man walks up to him and hands him the keys to his Jaguar and says it's yours. The reporter can't believe it and then starts investigating why someone would do something like this. The homework assignment was to think of something that could change the world and then put it into action. As you later find out the teacher Mr. Simone didn't actually believe that the homework assignment would cause the students to actually change the world but what he was trying to do was allow the students to actually believe they could make a difference. But Trevor was different and he took this assignment literally. While riding his bike home from school one day he went by an area that homeless people live and he invites a homeless guy to stay at his house. You see Trevor's idea was to do 3 big things to help 3 different people and the only thing that he wanted in return for helping someone was that they "Pay it forward" and do 3 big things to help 3 different people. The idea was that it would catch on and continue to multiply. As the movie goes on Trevor only sees that his acts of kindness fail when in reality although some do fail one actually works and "Pay it forward" changes the lives of many. When the reporter finally tracks down the source of "Pay it forward" he is shocked that an eleven year old boy is the creator and Trevor had no idea that his plan had actually worked.

In reality, we will never know how far our acts of kindness (big or small) will go or whether we can change peoples lives or the world with them. But I think it's important that we understand that it can and that we continue to show kindness to others even though we may not see the benefits of our kindness. One day we will know.

January 20th

Kendall:


When it got to the end of the day, my bus is the last bus to be called. We were all sitting in the cafeteria and when the bus was called I saw that the door kept having to be opened and closed by each person. I decided to hold the door open for everyone to go through and I got on the bus last. I am happy to help people.

January 19th

CJ:


Today there was a new girl in my class. When she first came into the class she looked really scared. So I knew what I was going to do today. I said..Hi I'm CJ, want to be friends? She said, sure. Then I asked her to sit by me at lunch. We talked about our lives and got to know each other. I hoped by doing this she would feel better and she wouldn't have to feel scared about being new at school.

Haiti

Nathan:


Today, I have been reading about the damage of this earthquake. I have seen reports of 200,000 people killed and 10's of thousands of children orphaned and I am left speechless. It doesn't feel right that I'm able to sit in my comfortable home going on living my life as normal. I'm left wondering what the Apostle Paul or Peter or any any of the disciples would be doing right now in this case. This is very sad. Yes, I can donate money to the red cross and yes, I can pray but is that enough? I don't know.

This year my family and I have committed to 365 days of kindness looking for opportunities to help others and acting on those opportunities when given a chance. Yet, I feel helpless when a Big opportunity is right in front of my face everyday. Am I or will I do enough to help the people of Haiti? And how will my actions now, shape my kids in the future? I don't know but it really has me thinking today.

Today, I read a story about a 6 month old baby with meningitis being left at a hospital and the doctors don't know what will happen to the baby (where the baby will go) after he is better.

Today, I read a story that says they are planning on bringing in UN troops just to help prevent human trafficking, kidnapping and sexual abuse of the Haitian children.

Today, I read that somewhere in the number of 10,000 kids will be orphaned after this experience in a country that already has 380,000 kids in orphanages.

There are a lot of stories like these and it makes me appreciate the Heidi Baker's and Aaron Jackson's (Planting Peace) of the world much more. And it makes me wonder if I'm doing enough.

January 18th

Cole:



We were at the grocery store. I found three packs of gum that I wanted to buy. My family was in the non-express line, so I asked if I could go into the express line which was 12 items or less at Price Chopper. Unlike Walmart, which is 20 items or less. I went into the line and there was an older man in front of me. He said, do you want to cut me? I said, thanks very much(luckily I carry my switchblade around..j/k). Then I checked out my items, which was gum and I used my $5.00 bill. I had leftover money so I told the cashier to please give it to the man behind me. Luckily the man behind me didn't hear me because I wanted it to be a secret deal....and spearmint gum is the best, I felt good. The End.

January 17th

Family:


This morning we decided as a family that we would pick up doughnuts and make a card and take them to the fire station. CJ took care of the note and Nate took the three kids on the mission. I took care of making biscuits and gravy for them when they returned. I got a call from Nate and he said, no one's answering at the fire station...then he said, wait a minute...they just opened the door. When they got home, they had a story....The kids had tried one door and there was no answer. They ran to the other door and then a fireman opened up and asked them to come in. He was so grateful for the gift, he invited them on a tour of the station and of the fire truck. The kids said, YES and went exploring. He told the kids, they could see whatever they wanted and they would be treated like royalty for bringing them sonic cards and doughnuts..haha The kids laughed and had a great time. They came home so excited and as I was getting ready later, I just kept thinking about how when you go on adventures with God, He just surprises you with things you couldn't imagine. I told my kids at lunch today that my hope(I tell them this often though)is that they all live a life full of adventure. That they let God lead them and they take chances and live out their dreams. The thought makes me so excited for them....


Mel:


After I got ready, I decided to stop by my neighbors before heading out to church. I knocked on the door and she answered! She invited me in an hugged me. She is the sweetest woman and I think we will be friends. She asked me to have some coffee and she told me about losing her husband. She was still in shock and it's been really hard for her. We had a really great conversation. I told her that we would love to look out for her and be there for anything she might need. I gave her our phone numbers and asked if it would be OK to stop by and see her and check in. She said yes and she hugged me some more. We talked about God and I told her how happy I was to have gotten her package so I could come meet her. She loves Chocolate Cake too..


My pastor said something this morning..."We serve God, not to gain His love and acceptance..We serve our God because we know we are dearly Loved." I started crying...it just makes sense. To be dearly loved by such a God and know it. What a privilege it is to serve Him.....

January 16th~

Mel:


It's Saturday...I love to stay home and wear pajamas and have piles of blankets surrounding me. Even though it's warmer outside, there is still snow and snow makes me want to stay cozy. I had been thinking all morning about what to do today. I think weekends will create more thought and creativity. Although being kind to my family or finding a way to bless them sounds like a great idea too. Today I had been thinking about my next door neighbor all day. There are three houses on my street. We are right in the middle. The neighbor that came to mind, I have never met. We've been in this new house for about 8 months and sadly I have never met her. I use to wave at her husband who sat in a swing out in their yard the first month we moved here. One day we saw lots of cars at their place and then I never saw him in the swing again. A few months ago the kids came home from school and told me that they met the older woman who lives next door. She stopped her car to talk to them while they were waiting for the bus. She told them that she was so sorry she hasn't stopped by but her husband passed away and she just hasn't been getting out much. The kids said she was really nice to them. I felt like I should go meet her...I didn't. I stink... I couldn't think of a reason to go by and all I kept thinking was, would I be bothering her? Then, it just vanished from my mind, until today. I wanted to bring her something like cookies or a pie or something so I just didn't show up, just me, weirding her out. Well...so, when I went to our mailbox(we have a community mailbox down the road a ways)there was a package in my mailbox..addressed to her! That has never happened before. I couldn't believe it...I was taking the kids and meeting Nate at the movies, so my plan was to hand deliver it on the way home. We stopped by the grocery store for some snacks and goodies and I picked up a slice of chocolate cake for her...drove home and stopped in front of her house...ran up, totally excited at how this was all playing out..knocked on the door...waited..rang the doorbell...waited. Well.....she wasn't home! Oh man..haha. Reminded me of a saying that one of the residents told me once at the nursing home I work at, when I helped her excitedly open this tiny box that she thought was a present(it was empty)with something wonderful inside..."Well, ya know... sometimes it just goes that way." And that's the truth...I have her package and cake sitting on the kitchen counter. I will hand deliver this and hopefully meet my neighbor in the morning. Maybe she likes a little chocolate cake with her morning coffee? : ) To be continued....

January 15th

Nathan:


On Friday, I was at home. It was about 2 pm and I was starting to panic knowing that I would be going to a hockey game that night with Cole and might not have an opportunity to show someone kindness. Then I remembered last week that our neighbors had taken our trash can from the street to where we store it by the garage. So, I decided to return the favor to them and this week I took their trash can and placed it where they store it by their house returning their kindness. At the hockey game I did have a chance... but didn't realize it until today. It's funny, but now I catch myself replaying my days through my head seeing if I missed anything and that's what happened again today. I was at the hockey game and I went to go get some food. I ordered the Chilli Cheese Nachos with Sour cream and onions. It was huge and looked magnificent!!!!! When I got back to my seat everyone was talking about how good they looked (I went with a lot of co workers and their families). While I was finishing my very beautiful Chilli cheese nachos one of my co workers kids sat next to me and said I was really hoping to get a nachos like yours but I couldn't find them and I got this. He showed me his nachos with chips and nacho cheese on the side. It was like comparing a picture that I painted to one that picasso painted. Then I told him where he could get beautiful chilli cheese nachos like mine. He didn't go though........What I should have done was to stop what I was doing and go buy the boy the picasso chilli cheese nachos. But I didn't, dang it... but I will next time.

Today (Saturday), I was driving to work and on the way there, the homeless lady I had failed to be kind too popped into my head. Knowing that I would be driving right by where I had seen her last time, I began to pray that I would have another chance to be kind to her. I was just so sure she was going to be there, but when I pulled up to the stop light where she was at last time no one was there... which is odd because someone is usually always there. Dissapointed, I went on to work. On my way back I decided to drive by the place again instead of taking my usual way home. Sure enough the exact same lady was standing there. I had $2 this time and gladly gave it to her. I have given more then $2 to churches, missionaries and to different homeless people before and I have to say that this was just the most rewarding of them all. Don't know why but it just is.

Dreams and opportunities

Nathan:


So two nights ago I had a dream. It was one of those dreams where I was fully aware it was a dream and as the dream played out if something happened that I didn't like I would just rewind it and change how I acted (to bad we can't do that in real life). Anyways, in the dream I was pulling someone out of a burning car the car had flipped over and there was gas leaking and I had a short time to get the lady out of the car and that's what I did......WAIT REWIND. So, I'm driving down the road with my family and I see that there is an accident I tell Mel and the kids to wait in the car and that I was going to help. I rush out of the car and as I'm running up to the car I see that it is bad, gas is leaking all over the place and I know that I need to do something quickly. The car is upside down and I see one lady in the car. I rip the car door open and see the lady stuck in her seat belt and she's crying. I tell her I'm here to help her and I will get her out soon. I undo the seatbelt and pull her out of the car.......WAIT REWIND. So, I'm driving down the road with my family. We are having a great time laughing, telling jokes and singing Jesus loves me (okay so maybe I'm still adding on to the dream even now). We pull up to a wreck and it's very bad. I tell Mel and the kids I must go help and that they need to wait in the car. I rush out of the car not knowing what to expect. I see gas is leaking and there is alot of smoke. It's not pretty and I know time is short. I go to open the car door of the overturned car but the door won't open so I'm forced to kick in the car window. After kicking in the car window I see that there is one woman and 2 children in the back. I tell them that I'm here to help I would get them out as soon as I can and then I pull them out.......WAIT REWIND. Okay so everything is the same up to the point before I pull them out. So I tell them I'm here to help them and I start praying while I'm pulling them out this seems to help calm them down and in a short time I'm able to pull them out one by one and save them. I'm the hero and save the day. The End.

For the last 2 days I have been praying with the kids in the morning that God would give us opportunities to be kind to someone. Over the last 2 days I have seen many opportunities. Wednesay night I slipped and almost fell on the ice while going in to pick up the kids from awana right in front of an elderly lady. She said wow it's slippery out here and I said yes it was and then offered to walk her to her car she said yes and she put her arm in mine and I walked her to the car. It felt good to help. On the other hand earlier in that day I was driving to work and pulled up to the stop light and there was a homeless woman standing there with a sign that said "homeless please help." I was on the phone and knew that I had a dollar in my wallet but chose to ignore her. I still remember her face her eyes looked sad. When I told my girls yesterday the story of not helping the homeless woman they were very disappointed in me and I made the excuse that I see those people all the time and sometimes they are not really honest and would probably just spend the money on something not good. But as I think about it does that really matter? Should I be the judge of the people I am kind too? I'm thinking that I should just act on the opportunities given to me. I wish I could rewind and give that lady the dollar.

4 days into 365 days of kindness and I feel like my eyes have been opened. It has me constantly looking for opportunities. I'm starting to think that God gives all of us opportunities everyday we just have open our eyes to see them. No longer will I pray with the kids that God would give us opportunities but that God would open our eyes to see the opportunities. Although it would be nice to be the hero one day like my dream and save lives, the little things are important too. Like tying someones shoes when you really don't want to or being someones friend when they have no friends or spending $5 dollars of your own money to help out a friend or helping a complete stranger when they need help or giving a homeless person a dollar.

Today, is my day and I'm excited. God, I ask that you would open my eyes to the opportunities that I will have today and that I act upon them...................

January 14th

Kendall:


When we were on the carpet in class today, there was a guy who needed his shoes tied. He asked me if I could tie them for him. I said no at first..then I thought, it would be nice. So then I did it.


When we were lining up to go to the bus, there were girls who were trying to get into line and then I let them cut into line in front of me.


When I went to the candy box at home. I got 7 chocolate kisses. When I was sitting on the couch, I saw CJ was sad. Then I decided to give her a kiss. Then I ate the rest.

I was scared about today but I prayed with Daddy this morning and I guess I felt better.

January 13th

Cole:


I was in science class and the science teacher wanted to see this guys school agenda. The kid told the teacher that he had lost it. The teacher said that he was going to have to pay $5.00 to get another agenda. When I heard that, I knew what I was going to do. I was going to buy him an agenda. On the way to lunch, I stopped by the library and bought him an agenda. At lunch I went up to him and gave it to him. At first he wouldn't accept it an then I told him that I bought it for him and that he's going to keep it. He said, thanks so much. I was nervous about today so maybe I can just buy agenda's for people until my Christmas money runs out...j/k.


CJ:


Today I know it wasn't my day but when I got to recess today I saw this boy at recess and he was all alone. I felt bad and I asked my friend who he was. She told me his name. I asked if he has any friends. She said she doesn't think so. So we walked over to him and we asked him if he wanted to be friends. He said, sure. We asked what he wanted to play. He said let's play tag. He wanted to be it. So we played all of recess together. I thought to myself. This day was a good day. When I saw him, I felt sad for him. If that was me, I would have been crying to have no friends. This day I learned it was good to make new friends.

January 12th

Melanie:


I stopped by the post office to pick up some stamps...When I was at the desk messing with my purse and stamps I noticed this tiny old man next to me. He was holding up a sheet of paper to his face, trying to read it. I laughed because he was so cute. He looked up at me and said hello. I said hi, can I help you with what you are doing? He said, sure. He was filling out a form for a raffle through the mail..where you send in your money to some random scam artists, who then promise to put your name into a raffle for the grand prize winnings of 2.5 million dollars. I asked him if he really wanted to send his money to this place because it didn't seem right. He laughed and said that his brother in law keeps telling him to stop spending his money on these things. I told him that he should listen up to his brother in law! He then said...Listen honey, I am the poorest guy in town and if I have a shot at winning 2.5 million dollars somehow, then I by sure am going to take it! He smiled big and I knew he wanted to do what he wanted to do. I showed him on the form where the address was and told him that he still had the chance to be 10.00 richer. He laughed...He told me to be good, I told him to be good. He said..well if you want to be bad, give me call. I laughed so hard the whole post office looked at us...I don't know if anything was accomplished. I had a good time meeting him and trying to save him 10.00. But, when I told Nate the story he said, the guy had hope for something better and maybe that's all he has?

Having hope for something better...

Cole you're up.

Day 1, January 11th, 2009

Nathan:


So, basically I dropped the ball on day 1. It was 7 pm and I needed to stop by the grocery store to pick up something. While standing in line all of the sudden it hit me that it was my day to do something kind for someone. I started to panic "how could I tell my family that I forgot on the FIRST DAY" and yet I still honestly didn't know what to do and I was nervous about it. But I had committed too. So, on my way out of the grocery store there was an older lady in front of me. I walked up to her and said "Maam, would it be okay if I helped you with your groceries today?" I was smiling and told her I promised not to steal them. She said yes and thanked me a few times, so I pushed her cart to her car and loaded the groceries in her back seat. Her name was Sue and she was not a big talker but either am I so it was okay....so this was a start.

Nathan:

First of all, I would just like to apologize to all for my poor use of grammar and spelling. So I guess now I'm officially a BLOGGER. So is this as bad as being a facebooker?

Tonight CJ came out to me while I was watching NCIS Los Angeles and asked me to pray with her before she went to bed. So I said yes and my prayer seemed pretty uneventful (didn't move any mountains) and then CJ started to pray.......and of course blew my mind. She had such passion in her words (reminding me of her mother). She prayed for us as a family, thanked God for her family and she thanked God that we were going to help people everyday. When she was done she kissed me goodnight and went to bed and I was left sitting there thinking.... how could such a screw up like myself have such an amazing family. The point of my story is ,I love to be a part of such a passionate family. Mel, Cole, CJ, and Kendall all have such a passion for God and people it's inspiring. I know I will learn a lot with the 365 days of kindness this year and I'm excited to see how this all plays out.

It has been a pattern in my life to not finish things. This year I would like to change that pattern.

So here we go...........

365 Days....

Melanie:

I'm not sure what or how this will all play out. Well I guess we never know how anything in life will play out. Kind of makes sense how God made it that way. All I know is that I am excited for this year. We will have stories and memories. Mostly I hope we shape our family into people who pay attention... Daily..to the people that God pays attention too. I love how everyone matters to God. Every single person we come across. It's just so huge. I am going to love this ride....

You're up Nate.