A Little Servant Heart

Teaching my kids about serving is so important to me. I want them to teach them about how different people have to live and the things that we can do to help others! I want my kids to be familiar with sacrificing their time and resources so that once they are grown, these won't be new concepts. 

Last month, we adopted a family to purchase groceries for their Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of doing the shopping myself, Jackson and I ventured out on a special trip to get the items from the list. It was a wonderful experience. Jackson even picked up a giant bag of M&Ms and said, "I think this family doesn't have M&Ms! We should buy them!" I told him we needed to stick to the list, but I wish we would have gotten them. I was proud of his thoughtfulness! He did get to pick out the cake mix and icing.

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He helped pack the sack and he helped me carry it in to Bible Study the next day. He was so eager to help!

Tuesday night, our family ventured out to ring bells for the Salvation Army in front of our local Walmart. It was super easy to sign up online (www.ringkc.com) and I picked a date as soon as possible to take advantage of the nicer weather we've been having. 

As cute as she is, Belle wasn't very eager about staying nearby or cooperating much at all. Derek took her home after an hour and I stayed with Jackson.

Jackson did an excellent job. His 4 year old attention span got bored, but he toughed it out. The bucket collector was thirty minutes late, but he was patient. His little feet got tired after standing around for 2 1/2 hours, but he didn't complain. He said Merry Christmas to hundreds of patrons. And aside from a few awkward comments {"Oh, Man! How did you get so OLD!?"} and the times when Jackson made his bell a gun and was "shooting" at people... the night went on without a hitch. I'm so proud.

This was such a good opportunity to teach Jackson about people who live on very little money, who might not have a house or winter coat. But it was also so good for Jackson to get outside of his little comfort zone and to do an activity that wasn't focused on him. I'm so proud of this little guy.

I think it's pretty safe to say that he blessed many people that night too. So many customers came back from their cars or drove up and handed him money through their car window because they wanted to support him. Jackson carried on conversations with many of the passer-byers and most left with great big smiles. I love that my kids can bring joy to others, especially during the holiday season!

I'm hoping we can make this an annual experience!

Being Thankful

I love Thanksgiving! I enjoy the food, time with the family, and just the overall attitude of gratefulness! I have so much to be thankful for in my life. God has blessed me with a wonderful family-- the one I was born into, the one I married into, and the one Derek and I created together! I am forever thankful for the pretty conventional stuff like my home, our health, working cars, jobs, my education, our church, the freedoms we posses in this country and the list could go on and on and on! But I'm also super thankful for other things that are super relevant in our life right now, even if they may seem a little silly.

• Our community
• Netflix
• Our Babysitters
• Mismatched socks
• Grocery Stores Kid Tactics

I had entire descriptions for each of these things, but then I realized that the post was about as long as some short books. So, I'm keeping it short today, but I will be back to talk about these! I asked Jackson to share what he is thankful for: One: Mom and Dad. Two: his blankets. And then when I absolutely made him chose a third, he added Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee. I asked Belle what she was thankful for and she said cheese and candy. True story. 

We are still over in across the state with family and last night, right around 10pm, we decided to make our way downtown for annual St. Louis Thanksgiving day parade. It was SO much fun!! We drove into a closer suburb and then hopped on a train to take us downtown. 

When you add a train ride + giant balloons + marching bands (mostly that's just for me) + yellow "Bumble Bee" cars + candy = the coolest morning ever for the kiddos. 

(and yes, Jackson is wearing a Kansas Jayhawk sweatshirt and yes, it makes me a little ill to know it will forever be etched into the memory of this Thanksgiving. But we only packed a heavy duty winter coat and it just wasn't that cold. So this was all we had to borrow from. At least it's covered in my favorite picture of the morning -- the last one! Oh, and Jackson was wearing his Missouri Tiger shirt underneath, but unfortunately I didn't take any more photos once we came home!!)

(Jackson is a surprisingly good Kazoo player!)

And this is my favorite photo from the morning! I love the Arch in the background.

We had a great day. It's been so much fun visiting our family. And may we never forget the "It's Not Gravy" moment... a story too epic to ever forget. But I'll save Belle the future embarrassment from actually posting the details. :)

Lastly, I'm SUPER thankful that seven years ago today, that Derek proposed! Little did I know that just seven years later that the majority of things on my thankfulness list would all be based on one little question! 

Our Texas Thanksgiving

To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we traveled down to Texas to visit some friends who moved down south this summer. We drove down with Brad and HanNah after the guys got off work on Wednesday and drove until the wee hours of the morning. 

We finally entered TX around 1am. 

We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel. Eating out on Thanksgiving was a first for me. It wasn't bad, but I'd much prefer to eat home cooked turkey next year {as long as I'm not the one cooking it!}. But most importantly, it was fun to be with our friends and what a treat that no one had to cook or clean up!

We skipped Black Friday shopping this year and visited some places around Fort Worth instead. We had breakfast at some cool pancake place. Delicious! And then we headed over to the stock yards {where the real cowboys come out to play}.

Jackson enjoyed looking at the long-horn steers, but he wasn't so thrilled about me taking a step back to take his picture.

Jackson was so thrilled to be hanging out with his BFF, Carter. He was attached to him practically the entire weekend.

Texas is clearly the Dr. Pepper mecca {and we've even been to the Dr. Pepper museum in Waco}. Derek has had the jelly beans before, but Dr. Pepper jerky-- GAG!

I love me some boys in cowboy hats!!!!

And check out our cute little cowgirl! She's waving for the camera.

We went to this awesome ice cream place. You pick out a flavor of ice cream and two cookies and they smash it together to make your custom ice cream sandwich! Ah.may.zing.

We don't have many {or any pictures} from Friday afternoon on-- mainly because, well, sickness invaded our living space. We had nine people in a cozy two bedroom apartment, three who got sick at exactly the same moment. It was way weird. Lots of vomit. All night long. Lots of sleeping and recovering filled the following days. Thankfully, our family dodged that bullet. I did get the naseau bug on Saturday night, but fortunately, I was able to hold down my meal, but I was thought I was dying for a couple of hours for sure. 

And then, Derek and I were stuck with a little baby that WOULD NOT SLEEP! Oh my goodness. We had to drive Belle around at every moment we needed her to nap-- morning, afternoon, and bedtime! She had a high fever and was so cranky. She hardly ate anything and my word was she difficult! Did I mention how much time we spent in the car just to get her to sleep? We drove all the way to Texas so we could drive around and sit in the McDonalds parking lot so we could use their wi-fi because some little cranky-pants would wake up the moment the car engine went off. She has already been told that all the gas money we spent getting her to sleep will be deducted from her college fund.

It's really kind of comical to look back upon. Pathetic really. We were so careful to plan to make sure that our Texas trip wouldn't turn into a disaster {after our last trip ended up costing nearly $1,000 more than planned} and this bug just came and invaded our plan. I can't help but chuckle at how the whole thing panned out. But, we wouldn't have traded our visit for anything. I really miss Brooke {and Trey and Carter too} and it was just super great to hang out with her again. 

I'm sure we'll go visit again, but Derek has already made it clear that the kids will be kenneled the next time we venture out of our city. Yes, kenneled-- his words.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from our cute, little turkey!

We have so many things to be thankful for this year, but more than anything I am thankful that we get to spend the holiday together, as a family this year!

Thankless Jobs

Though I have no experience as being either, I have concluded that being a soldier is a little bit like being a parent of a teenager. I am a civilian and I was once a teenager- and as both, I have taken my privileges and rights for granted.

As a teen, do you really realize how much effort goes into raising you? And did you ever, EVER thank your parents for their hard work during your teen years? My parents were always there to support me, to encourage me, and to cheer me on despite the fight that happened the night before, or the inconveniences of taking me to the places I needed to go, or the simple fact that I, at times, was a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. Needless to say, I hear it is a pretty thankless job.

While soldiers today aren't treated with such disrespect as they were in the Vietnam era, I am still fairly certain that it is also a thankless job. Some may get some praise and support when they leave for deployment and possibly receive a grand welcome home party upon return. What about all of that hard work and dedication to serve (even in pink boxers) in the hundreds of days in between? What about the soldiers who don't have support from loved ones at home?

This picture made the cover of The New York Times earlier this year.

The reason this is on my mind today is because a friend is leaving today for his training to be deployed to Africa next month. Here is a picture of Rich with his kiddos home from leave during his last deployment in 2008 (Emma was a student in our Sunday school class at the time. Connor will be in the class next fall.)

Rich is so fortunate to have such a great family that supports him along with friends and his church. Not everyone is so lucky. So, how can we be grateful, thankful citizens and let all soldiers know that we stand behind them?

• We should pray for them daily.
• Go out of your way to say "thanks" when you see a soldier in uniform.
• Send an encouraging note or a package of goodies to a soldier (don't know one personally- check out www.AnySoldier.com. You can browse through hundreds of Unit Leaders who have registered and requested specific requests for their groups. The leader will deliver the packages to soldiers who do not receive packages from friends and family at home.
• Say something encouraging to the families of soldiers. They will find comfort knowing you are praying too.
• Do something special for the families of the soldiers. It's hard to be a soldier living in the desert. It's also hard to be a wife of a soldier with a 2 year old and a newborn to take care of all by yourself. (You did a great job, Jessica!) Offer to cook a meal, watch the kids, take the kids to karate lessons.
• Donate time or money to an organization that sponsor's soldiers and their families. http://troopssupport.com/ is a great place to look for opportunities- they have several organizations listed, so click on one that interests you. From being a greeter for soldiers coming home to working with the kids of deployed soldiers- there's something for everyone!

Just like we all can't be doctors and we all can't be President- we can't all participate in every single one of these activities. But if we could all do a thing or two, once or twice a year imagine what it could mean to our servicemen and their families. It may not make their deployment shorter or the conditions less harsh, but feeling appreciated can make a world of difference in anyone's job- especially a soldier.

This past fall, our Sunday school class partnered up with the Women's Bible study class to send a package to several soldiers. The kids painted signs for each package- a simple gesture, and the moment our friend Josh received the package, he hung up the poster and posted a picture- and it remains his profile picture even 6 months later.

To all of our soldiers and veterans: Thank you SO much for your service. Thank you for sacrificing your standard of living, time with your families, and most of all your lives to protect our freedoms and to uphold our Constitution.

A Thankful Heart

I love Thanksgiving for the positive aspect of the holiday. Everyone has lots to be thankful for, especially me and my family. I try to have a thankful heart all year round, though I am not always successful when I get caught up all in myself. Here are some of the things I am thankful for this year.

--Family--

I am thankful for my family. My immediate family- Derek and Jackson make me very happy, who love and support me. My Dad who has worked, worked, and worked on my house and who still answers the phone, even when it's the sixth time I've called on one day. My mom who also answers multiple phone calls daily and who also offers to watch Jackson just because. My in-laws who let us live with them and for the time when I was having a tough week, I came home from Minnesota to house that was all clean and ready to move in because they wanted to make it feel home-y. And for the fact that all of my family gets along so well with each other. We are SO blessed in that.

--Friends--

Our friends have been truly wonderful to us this year. Hundreds of hours of labor on our house for exchange for a meal here and there. Often times, I hardly had time to even ask for help because they had already offered and/or used the key to work when we weren't even here. We have the type of friends that when we ask for an inch, they give us a mile- every time. Not only with our house... but just in support, encouragement, and friendship have we been blessed.

--Church--
We love our church. Despite being a member for just about three years, I feel that I have been a part of this family for a lifetime. The foundation, the people, the encouragement. I have enjoyed the Tea for Three activities and getting to know more and more ladies in our church. Our Sunday School class is a blessing and I am so proud of them. Wednesday evenings are my favorite- I love the ladies ministry!

--Country--
With several friends and acquaintances deployed at this time, I cannot say enough how thankful that I am for our country. I am thankful for the Constitution that we fight to uphold. I am thankful for a President and for the democracy our county has that allows citizens to make a choice.

--School--
I am so thankful to be in school- for the opportunity and for the support from the people around me. I love studying psychology. I am thankful for the gifts of understanding people and am so eager to be a counselor. And this semester I am particularly thankful for that my professor agrees that I have a talent.

--Job--
I love my job. Nothing is greater than to be able to stay home with Jackson and I love having David around. Everything is happy in their world and it is such a blessing to be loved by children- with hugs, and smiles, and giggles. I enjoy watching Jackson grow and move on to bigger and better things each day- to actually get to read him books, while he squeals at the animals on the pages. It is so exciting to hear David count the Ten Friendly Frogs, even if it's the fifth time in one day and nothing is more entertaining than to hear him lecture the cat when she isn't nice ("Mia, it is not nice to hit. Do you understand me? Now you say, 'Yes, Ma'am'.").

I'm Stuffed!

Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. We got to spend time with both my family and Derek's. The food was yummy, I am sure I ate too much, but hey, I still weigh less than I did just about a month ago! And of course Jackson was oohed and aahed over by many... but who can blame them!? He is just so stinkin' cute!

With the Christmas season beginning so early these days, I think people can really miss out on the idea of Thanksgiving. What a great holiday to spend with family and be so thankful for all the things the Lord has given us!

Of course, I am so thankful for Jackson being in my life-- for the easy pregnancy, that he is healthy, and that he looks my good lookin' husband! I am so thankful for Derek. He did the best job of taking care of me-- back rubs, foot massages, cooked dinner, etc...-- while I was pregnant. He works really hard each day at work to provide for Jackson and me. I am thankful for our families, both who have been SO helpful since we had Jackson. Both grandma's have spent the night and allowed me to get some extra sleep. The one thing I love the most about our families is that they get along so well and are so easy going! No one fights about where we spend Thanksgiving, about who has spent the most time with Jackson, but in fact, our families even hang out together sometime. It's such a blessing. I am so thankful for my friends and church family. Everyone has been so encouraging, helpful, kind, and gracious. Not only did people spoil me with shower gifts, but once Jackson came people cooked meals, folded my laundry, and made sure I had their number to call if I needed anything. Words cannot express my thankfulness.

And now that Thanksgiving has passed, I am now offically in the Christmas spirit!