$20? $20! Do I Hear $25...

I'm not sure how many of you have heard the story of the recent tragedy at the Nutty Putty Caves here in Utah. I'm not sure why it has affected me so much or why I can not stop thinking about what happened. We do not know John Jones or any of his family. Perhaps it was because Coolister had just been to the cave the week before and returned, along with his scout crew, with stories of excitement and adventure. Maybe it is because Allen and I were following the story online as soon as we discovered that someone was stuck in the cave.

We went to bed the night before thinking that the morning would bring news of a rescue and were shocked to learn that he had died. It weighed on me for the following few days and still makes my heart heavy to think about what happened and how this unexpected turn of events is affecting his family - specifically his young daughter and his wife who is expecting their second child next year.

It is one of those times when I really wish there was something I could do to help, but feel completely helpless... until yesterday.

My friend Rebecca posted on her blog about an online auction being held to raise funds for John Jones' widow and children. This is how I can help. And I wanted to pass the word along.

Just visit the online auction here, find something you want for yourself or maybe as a Christmas gift for someone else, and place a bid. New items will be posted until December 7th, so you can shop all week, all the while helping someone in need.

It's a win-win situation. So click over there and buy some stuff!

By the way, the warm fuzzies you'll get are free.

Girl's Basketball

ElemenoB made it onto the freshman team at her high school and today was their first game. I went to watch, somewhat excited to get a feel for what to expect this season.

It was not pretty.

First, let me say that the girls on ElemenoB's team seemed to be playing well and having fun. The coaches were encouraging and happy. To me, that's what sports should be all about.

The other team, as well as their spectators and coaches, were not so... what is the word? Courteous? Sportsman-like? Those don't quite work. Let me put it this way: the coaches loved to scream at the girls on their team, specifically the ones who were playing well. Especially pink-sweater-lady coach, who also took delight in telling the referees how dumb all of their calls were. That lady has some sort of issues going on in her life that just make her an angry person. I wasn't sure if she just needed a hug or to have someone tell her that everything's gonna be all right (rockabye).

The girls on the opposing team would yell in our girls' faces when they were blocking them (is that what it's called? Blocking? Guarding? Tackling?) or if they were trying to get the ball away from them. Things like BALLBALLBALLBALL!! or DENYDENYDENYDENY!! What the heck is that all about?

The home team's spectators would yell and scream and stomp their feet anytime someone on our team was shooting a free-throw, but if we did the same when their team was shooting, we got dirty looks and glares from every 13 and 14 year old tough guy in the gym. I was like, what? Why can't we be friends? We should all be friends. And all I got back was *glare, glare*.

If you are laughing at me at this point, fine. Go ahead, laugh. I know what you are thinking. Basketball is a competitive sport, Gerb! They're supposed to tackle each other and be jerks and yell and glare at everyone. Well, I don't like it when people are mean, sports or not.

This is SO hard! I want to be supportive of ElemenoB's new endeavor, but I feel SO uncomfortable around mean people!

I think I may have a solution, though. Sort of a Pay-It-Forward for girl's basketball.

Do any of you out there know the coach for Orem Junior High's freshman girls' basketball team? (I SO wish I had brought my camera so I could show you a picture! She was so pretty, but she'd be a whole lot prettier if she smiled once in a while.) If you do, could you do me a big favor? Give her a huge, squishy hug the next time you see her and compliment her on her pink sweater. Then ask her if she'd like to talk about what it is that makes her so mean and angry. Once you're done with your heart-to-heart and she's gotten it all out, give her another hug and then ask her to do the same for one other coach or player who seems mad at the world. I'm hoping this will have the effect of eventually increasing my comfort level at girl's basketball games because everyone will be nicer.

If she refuses or resists or gets in your face, could you do something else for me? Get as close to her as you can, look sweetly into her eyes and then yell at the top of your lungs,

"BALLBALLBALLBALL!!!!"

Thanks. (SO much.)

Kindness Begins With Me

I taught my class on Sunday about God's desire for us to be kind to others. We talked about how happy it makes us feel when we do and say nice things as well as how it feels to be the recipient of kind words and deeds.

To illustrate I had each child take turns sitting in a chair at the front of the room with a felt crown on their head. I then asked the other kids to say something nice about the person wearing the crown, "Prince/Princess (insert name here)".

Here were some of their responses:

Prince Hubba

"He pways wif me so nice!"
"You are a very loving boy."
"I like his clothes a lot."

Princess S~

"She is very creative."
"She's my best fwend."
"Her is so beautiful!"

Princess E~

"I love your smile!"
"She is so pretty."
"Her have great hay-o (hair)!"

Prince Super C

"You are nice to others."
"He is so smawt all the time!"
"I like to play with you."

Once class had ended, I had a feeling of regret. I wished I had given myself a turn with the felt crown and heard what nice things the kids would have said about me. It seems selfish, I know, but like I taught my class, we all enjoy hearing nice things that others say about us. Is there really anything wrong with that? (No, there's not.)

I have decided that for this week, everyone I run into or think about will be deemed "Prince/Princess (insert your name here)". I'm going to compliment others on things I notice, even if it may embarrass them a little. I'm going to perform small acts of unexpected friendliness. I'm going to offer words of encouragement and kindness and try to proliferate those warm, happy feelings that come when we feel loved. If my class of 4 and 5-year-olds could benefit from it, couldn't we all?

You know that saying about how the teacher is often the one who gets the most out of giving a lesson?

Yeah.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It!

Not only is this girl cute, smart, and full of personality, she's also got a heart as big as Texas. Over the summer she held a Lemonade Stand fund raiser for a local group called RAH! Every penny she earned (including the money she got from recycling the cans) was donated. RAH! contacted our local paper and they interviewed her for a story which was published today. Want to read about it?

Click here.

More NieNie Auctions!

The bidding is not over yet! Don't forget to bid on the gorgeous pieced-quilt I have up for auction (see post below). Click on the pictures to see the close-up details! It's totally worth the money - plus, how can you go wrong when it's all to help someone out?

Here are a couple of other AWESOME auctions I have seen that are not getting many bids:

A set of handmade cards and some beautiful jewelry

Orem Owlz tickets! (for those in Utah County/SLC area)


DesignMom said something we should all keep in mind:

I'm hoping people are in a public radio mindset. Like when you hear the NPR commentators say: "pledge your membership of only $75.00 and we'll send you this canvas tote bag with our logo on it." You know the tote bag is worth maybe $5. But it's not about that. You're looking for a way to be generous and supportive. And the tote bag is just a bonus.


Bid, bid, bid! Let's get spendy!!

Service (With a Smile): Sunday

It's the last day of my serving (with a smile!) week. It has been fun. And hard. And I won't ever publicly proclaim my awesomeness again, so I hope you enjoyed it. I also hope you don't all think I'm a big bragger. That was the hard part.

I'm counting a bunch of simple acts of service for today... wiping tears, holding little hands, singing quiet songs, making smallish people smile in the nursery at church. There was also breaking up fights, cleaning spilled drinks and wiping runny noses, and I'm still going back next week and the week after that and every week until someone tells me they want me to do something else. Plus I volunteered to teach a weekly sign language class at church that lost its teacher to the National Guard. Ok, toot, toot, toot and all that. Enough already!

To end this week on a thought that is right up my alley, let me tell you a story. I was driving Coolister and another scout to pick up food for their food drive this week and as the back of the vehicle began to fill with canned goods I asked, "Doesn't it make you feel great that you're doing this? A lot of people will benefit from this food you're collecting." Coolister responded, "Yeah, it's like that quote we learned at scout camp. Serving others is like peeing your pants. Everyone can see what you've done, but you're the only one with the warm feeling."

Exactly.

Service (With a Smile): Saturday

First off, let me share with you a service that was performed for me. My older kids get asked to babysit often and I am so appreciative of their willingness to do so. I sometimes have to assign each older child to a younger one so no one is completely ignored. Last night Allen and I went to see the late show of Prince Caspian at the dollar theater, and Coolister was assigned to tend Baby O. He took his responsibility seriously, because when we returned home, we saw this:

My oldest and my youngest. So sweet.

Today was fun. I got my hair cut in the afternoon.

If you ever wondered what I would look like with straight hair, it's your lucky day. It only happens when I go to the salon because I don't have the time or patience to do it myself. The next time you see me, it will be curly again.
The person who did the haircut is a cousin on Allen's side - someone I love to chat and laugh with. She really liked a shirt I made for our family reunion auction this summer but was not the winning bidder, so I decided to make her one since I'd be seeing her this afternoon. (service complete!)
After I got home, Cowgirl asked if I wanted to join the 7-Up Club. I asked her what I would be committing to and she said, "A water party at the beginning, a water party at the end, and sometimes we will drink 7-up." That seemed simple enough, so I signed up. After she convinced everyone else to join Allen suggested we have the first official meeting TODAY. So, Cowgirl and I went to purchase some 7-up and then the kids got their swimsuits on and ran through the sprinklers!
I think that allowing Cowgirl to act on her whimsical club was a service she much appreciated. And everyone else had some fun, too.

Service (With a Smile): Thursday

I went to Good Earth today to buy some freshly ground peanut butter (try it - it is fun to work the machine and it tastes awesome!). The machine wasn't working, which was a bummer. However, I can always find something I need there, so I proceeded to the checkout line where a man was talking with the checker about his purchase...

Man: "I thought it would be free with the coupons, so I didn't bring any cash. Do you want me to use my debit card for the remaining amount? It will probably cost you more to process the payment than I owe on the groceries."

Then, a thought bubble appeared above my head: Service (with a smile) week! Offer to pay it for him! So, I offered, and he graciously accepted my shiny quarter. Hoo-Rah! I was able to do something nice for a stranger. That felt good.

And now, I am going to do something nice for you. I make some amazing granola (toot! toot! toot!) and you get to have my recipe. It's OK, you don't have to thank me. If you really decide to reward yourself by making this delicious (and nutritious!) stuff, most ingredients can be found at any health food store (like Good Earth if you live near me). Enjoy!

The BEST Granola

First mix the following ingredients in a large bowl:

7 cups oats
6 cups 6-grain flakes (looks like oats)
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 cups coconut flakes
2 cups sliced or slivered almonds
2 ½ cups (1 pound) brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt

Then combine the following ingredients in a separate bowl:

2/3 cup water
½ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons almond or maple flavoring
1 cup honey

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Bake at 250 degrees for an hour and a half (90 minutes), stirring every 15-20 minutes. Cool thoroughly, then add:

2 cups banana chips, broken
3 cups raisins
2 cups chopped dates in oat flour (this is the way they are sold here, you could use any kind of dates as long as you chop them up)

Makes 7 or 8 lbs. of cereal.

Service (With a Smile): Wednesday

Today's service was simple: carry along a bag of animal crackers to Cub Scout pack meeting.

There is almost always a fair number of kids under the age of 3 at these meetings with their families. I get to hang out with the kids in this age group at church every Sunday, so we're pretty good friends. I actually always bring a treat to share with my little pals at Pack Meetings. (It helps them remember who their favorite teacher is.) And so, today I shared some animal crackers with some of my favorite smallish people and enjoyed some grateful smiles in return.

Allen and I also brought grocery bags with us on a walk and beautified the neighborhood as we went. It was surprising how quickly our bags were filled - we would empty them in trash cans along the way then fill them again... and again... and again... you get the picture. (Not a real picture - you didn't really want to see a bunch of discarded water bottles and gum wrappers and plastic cups, did you? I didn't think so.)

Until tomorrow...

Service (With a Smile): Tuesday

I know, you're thinking I wasn't going to follow through on my promise to report to you daily this week. Well, it's not my fault, it's my computer's. So without any further ado, here is Tuesday's post:

First of all I would like to say that I am never going to do this again. Blogging about the service I perform is difficult because I prefer to do it without tooting my own horn (so to speak. I can't actually play a horn and don't own one). BUT a promise is a promise, hasty or not, so here's Tuesday's report...

I had a plan, and it did not come together. I ended up taking elemenoB to her eye appointment and then at D.I. to drop off our donation from yesterday. Of course, we went inside to hunt for treasures (and school clothes). And then we went to the grocery store and the bank. I was looking for someone I could perform some act of kindness for the whole day, but no opportunities arose. As I began to make dinner I felt panicky. It was almost 7:00 p.m. and no service! I started to justify reporting things like "I drove elemenoB to the eye doctor" and "I let the kids have an Otterpop after dinner" but I am not a cheater. In the middle of a sewing project my brain had an AHA! moment. I did do service! First of all, I found these 2 things at D.I. that I would love to display in my home, but they don't "fit". I bought them anyway and plan to give them to a friend who I think will enjoy them:

(Someone sewed this thing by hand, people! I saved it from it's wrongful imprisonment at D.I.)

And the sewing project I was working on...hello! It was for someone else. The teenagers at our church are going on a reenactment of a Pioneer Trek and are dressing the part. All of the young ladies are wearing bonnets as part of their pioneer garb. One young lady does not like girly things, but is going to dress the part of a pioneer chick because she is a good sport. And she does not sew, she plays sports and does not have time (nor desire) to make a bonnet. I happily volunteered to make her one, mostly because I am dying to see her actually wear it. Instead of the typical flowery bonnet, I gathered the supplies for a less froo-froo bonnet last night:
and set to work. Here is the final result:
And there you have it! (TOOT! TOOT! TOOT!) Let's see what opportunities I encounter today...

Service (With a Smile): Monday

I realized something today. It's not so easy to do service for others when you don't leave the house. Sure, mothers are serving their families all the time, but I figured that would be sort of like cheating with what I was trying to achieve this week. So, maybe I'll get out tomorrow and find a way to serve someone, but for today it all happened within the walls of my home.

I am a merit badge counselor for the scouting program in our neighborhood - specifically for the Citizenship in the Community merit badge. I guess I could count that in and of itself as a service, but I won't. Part of the badge is to perform some significant community service (go figure!) so I helped the boys today to prepare a flier that we will deliver around our neighborhood tomorrow:
We will collect the food on Thursday morning. But I'm only counting the fliers/posting/collecting for today's service.

But wait, there's more!

I tried to think of what else I could do from home. I came up with some great ideas, but the one I decided to follow through on was a family D.I. drive. We came up with quite a bit of stuff:
I told the kids that I wanted them to go through their clothes, toys, books, and other things with the idea that someone in need could use what they had, not just to get rid of things they didn't want. And away we went. Some items ended up in the trash but we found some great, quality items to donate as well.

So, there's my report for Monday! I have a plan for tomorrow. We'll see if it comes to fruition.

A Week of Service (With a Smile!)

I often try to do nice things for others and I love the happy feeling it brings me. After reading a talk on the subject of doing good I have an even greater desire to do so. Someone I look up to once told me that "a goal not written down is only a wish", so I'm writing it here and promising to update daily this week.

My goal for this week is:
I'm going to do something nice for someone else every day and I'll tell you about it here. Not in a bragging sort of way, but more of a "Look what YOU could do, too! And think of what a difference you can make" sort of thing.

Plus there will be no excuses to skip a day if I know someone is checking up on me.

Stay tuned!

Home Run

I am not a huge sports fan but this video my friend Trish emailed me is awesome. We need more people like these girls in sports - and the world in general.