Random Acts of Kindness

This post is from another blog - http://lifeofgiving.blogspot.com/

This sounds like SUCH a fun idea - we plan on doing it more than once a year, though!

Random Acts of Kindness Day is Coming

A few months ago, a friend of mine told me about how she and her kids loved doing "random acts of kindness" in order to foster a love of giving. We thought her idea was so great that we have decided to promote it every quarter. On July 1st, we encourage you to do one random act of kindness in order to spread goodwill to others, and also to remind people that millions of children around the world live each day as orphans.

To take part, here is what you should do:

1) Print off the image on this blog, and cut it out as a small "coupon" or postcard. (if you double click on the image, it should load it on your computer in a larger size)

2) On July 1st, pick a moment to do something kind for someone. Some suggestions include paying for the person behind you in the drive-thru line, buying a cup of coffee for the person in line behind you at a coffee shop, helping someone with lots of groceries load them into their car, etc. Be creative!

3) After doing your kind deed, give the person your "kindness card". If you are in a drive-thru line, simply give it to the cashier and ask them to give it to the next person in line while telling them that their meal is free. Then you can turn around and wave at the unsuspecting person behind you with a huge smile as you drive away.

So many people in this world are having a hard time and could really use a pick-me-up. You will never know how your random act might have given them just the encouragement they needed that day. It ALWAYS feels good to give, doesn't it? Invest just $5 into surprising someone with random kindness on July 1st, and help spread awareness about all of the children who go to bed every night without parents to love them. You will be adding a moment of giving to the world as well, and no act of kindness is ever wasted. Do a fun deed on July 1st and then come back here and tell us how it went!

(Warning: our friends who have done this with their children say their kids absolutely LOVE doing it, so be prepared to have some extra cards printed and in your glovebox! What a great way to teach our kids that giving to others is a blessing.) Have fun!

Free Paint!

If you go to this site: you can order a free quart of paint while supplies last! How awesome is that?

https://www.glidden.com/promotions/free-paint-giveaway.do

I got Rainforest Fern that I am going to use to paint a dresser that I just got for free!!!!

Woo-hootie-Hoo!!!!!!

Our paperwork is on it's way to Ch*na!!!!!!!! This means two things. One, we can request updated information on our sweetie and two, we can begin counting days!!! The average time to hear that we are approved is running between 2 and 4 months right now. Hold on little daughter, we are coming for you!

Family

We were lucky enough to be able to spend time with both of our fathers this year on Father's Day.  

Grandpa B, McGrew (my hubby) and Chick-a-Dee

Grandma L (99 years old!) broke her wrist the other day :-(  - she and Chicka have a blast playing together!

Poundin' out a tune.

Under Liberty Premier

They did it!  The premier of the movie was last night and I might add, a huge success!  The crowd loved it, and I think were a little amazed at what a professional job a group of homeschooled teens, all under 18,  were able to do!

One side of the cast.

The other side of the cast goofing off before showtime.

The star who filmed and directed the film.  All of 16 years old!

The DVD, complete with bloopers, will be available for purchase soon.

The marquis all lit up!  Pretty impressive!

IBoy and MissE take a pose.

Part of the cast went out to eat after the movie.  Yes, it was a late night for this old mama!

If you didn't catch the trailer for the movie, here it is:

New Old Picture

A blast from the past.  I was just cleaning up my blog dashboard and looked at a blog that I had set up, but never really used.  The reason it wasn't used was that a few days after I made it, our home burned to the ground - including the computer, of course!  You can see photos of the house before it burned, the ruins, and the rebuild at the site on the sidebar if you are interested.

We are approaching, amazingly, the two year anniversary of the event.  It was odd to look at this picture - looking into our eyes before we lost all of our earthly possessions.  I sat on the same stump that we are sitting on in this picture to call my family during the fire to let them know what was happening.  Weird.

We have all learned so much about ourselves and been able to grow closer to God through this experience.  We learned that God does, most emphatically provide.  We learned that it is just as important to be able to receive with grace as it is to give with grace.

This is a GREAT life!!!!!

New Dress For Sale!

I am pleased to present to you two new dresses for sale!  My Mom surprised me with a new idea, and I think they are pretty darned cute!

Here is one version . . . .

and another similar style!

They are both for sale - I just put one on Chick-a-Dee so that you could easily see it.  They are a size 2.  They both have a darling pair of matching bloomers under them.  The lower one buttons at the shoulder, the upper one just slips over the head.  We are selling each of them for $35 plus shipping.

A Purse

Another purse for sale!!!  This is a similar style as the maroon one - an over the shoulder, tuck under the arm kind.  This one, however, is done in a greenish/beige tone, and again, very plush and soft.

This one also has double pockets on both the inside and outside.

I think that I am going to have to improve my photography skills - these don't do this purse justice!  I had SO much fun creating this bag!  It is fully lined, it has a divided pocket on the inside and another divided pocket on the outside.  It feels as luscious as it looks - just not in the photos! 

 

New Products!!!!

I'll show you a sneak peek of what I am about to post for sale on chuiesfamiy.blogspot.com.

I have a ton of bags/totes/purses that I will be making and . . . . . . . 

my Mom is making the adorable bloomers!

If you are interested in purchasing anything - 100% of the proceeds goes towards bringing our daughter home from Ch*na.

Fishing and a Storm!!!

Dad had the day off yesterday and decided that it was a perfect fishin' day, so, off they went!  Weather was perfect, fish weren't overly cooperative, but hey - hangin' out on the boat - what could be better, heh?

Well - take a look at the sky!  We had a kind of freak storm yesterday - out of nowhere!  They looked up and saw the storm approaching them from both sides!!!!  They made a run for it back to the dock and fortunately, there were some helpful gents there who were able to assist in getting the boat into the slip.  The winds were clocked at over 50 mph, lightening strikes everywhere, downed trees, downed power lines, torrential rain bursts, hail - in other words, a whopper!

Within a fairly short amount of time - it was all over!

The survivors of the storm!

A few hours later, it was warm and raining.  Of course it was probably due to the rain dance that you are witnessing here!

Some good friends of ours raise all sorts of bamboo that they sell.  Chick-a-dee LOVED to run through the "forest"!

Do you ever get the feeling that this girl's FAV color is pink??????

MissE's Art in the Gallery

This is actually the 3rd time that MissE has had art publicly displayed, and even won awards and monetary prizes - but the first time that we actually have photos of it!

And here is her piece!  She is very critical of it and points out the bad parts of it, but I think it is darned good!

Glasses and Chocolate

Chick-a-Dee's glasses were ready to be picked up today.  She thinks that she is pretty hot stuff putting them on and then putting them away in their special case.  She wasn't too thrilled about wearing them for a long period of time, but no doubt she will get used to them soon enough.

I found a super deal on strawberries today, so for dessert tonight, we dipped them in chocolate!

Well, some of us dipped the fruit in the chocolate.  Others kind of skipped the fruit and went straight for the chocolate!  Wonder who?????